Legend of Zelda: Dark Rain
by Child Of Dreamz
Summary: A poisonous black rain falls upon the land of Hyrule killing all plant life and most of the sages have fallen in attempt to protect the land. Now it's up to one young man to save Hyrule, but what can one young man do when the one responsible for the poisonous rain has an entire army at his disposal? Rewritten and Hiatus for indeterminate amount of time. You've been warned.
1. A Hero's Beginning

Disclaimer – Legend of Zelda is copyrighted to Nintendo.

Title - Legend of Zelda: Dark Rain

Rated - T

Summary – A poisonous black rain falls upon the land of Hyrule killing all plant life and the sages have fallen in attempt to protect the land. Now it's up to one young man to save Hyrule.

A/N - Here we go again :3 or welcome to those of you who have never read this before. Things are a lot different in this chapter up until you hit mid-middle with the end being entirely new. Later chapters will be more familiar if you've read this before the rewrite, but things have been added so I don't recommend skipping entire chapters or you will probably get lost. I hope you like this story :3

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><p>The Hero's Beginning<p>

_We the Goddesses; Din, Farore, and Naryu give our blessing to you, O Hyrule, and the descendants of Hylia. Protect the precious gifts we have given you and in return we shall protect you, but never abuse that which we give you or darkness and chaos will once again descend upon the land…_

Harsh cries echoed across the Field of Hyrule the sound chasing after a figure that sat atop a galloping mare. One that could barely be called a woman for only a handful of years had passed since the mantle of adulthood had fallen upon her shoulders. One of her hands held tightly to the mare's reins as she guided it across the field while the other secured a small boy to her body in hopes to keep him from falling off. The boy gripped the shoulders of his mother's cloak for dear life his small face buried in the nape of her neck to hide the things that chased after them from his sight. The mother, on the other hand, glanced back over her shoulder causing the hood of her cloak to slip off releasing her long golden blond hair from the bounds that had kept it down to unfurl behind her like a banner.

They had managed to lose their pursuers for the moment, but a glance at the lathered mare told her that they would catch up soon enough. Now that they had a fix on her they would find her no matter how far she fled. She just hoped that they hadn't managed to mark her son as well with their tainted magic. Oh Goddesses she prayed they hadn't!

The woman glanced around at their surroundings with her royal blue eyes hoping to find something or someone that would help them. She hadn't been around this part of Hyrule since she was a few years older than her own son and then it had been moonless night. This was the reason she did not realize just where they were until the mare began to approach a wooden bridge that spanned across a gorge.

The woman pulled back on the mares reigns before it could step foot on the bridge and quickly climbed out of the saddle. The boy's grip tightened as he lifted his head up to look at her with his sapphire blue eyes. It pained her to see just how scared he was since she could not do a thing to calm him. Quickly she walked over to a tree and began to untangle the boy from herself only to have him cry out in distress and cling to her harder. She kneeled down beside the tree and got the boy to look at her. "My precious little one I need you to listen to me," she told him and the boy calmed down slightly, but his eyes had by now where as wide as they possibly could be. "I cannot take you with me," she began only to have the boy cry out in distress again and bury his face within the nape of her neck once more. It made her heart ache hearing him cry and she wished that there was another way to keep him safe, but she could think of none.

The mare let out a nervous whinny and she knew she did not have much time left before they were found. She undid the lilac shaped metal clasp that held her dark green cloak in place then proceeded to remove her son's hands from her shoulders despite how hard he fought to keep a hold of her. Once she had gotten him off her she wrapped him in her cloak and placed him down by the tree. Instantly he lunged for her to grab hold of her but she gently placed one of her fingers on his lips and the look on her face caused him to still. "I need you to be brave like your father, little one, and stay here while I lead them away. Once they are gone I want you to head along that road away from the bridge," she told him and pointed to the road the mare stood on waiting for her. The boy glanced at it then back at her as his eyes began to fill with tears.

Her eyes filled with tears as well as she leaned forward to gently kiss her son on his forehead. The boy shivered as he felt his mother's magic caress his skin for a moment. Before she pulled away to leave she whispered into his ear, "Do not move until they are gone and remember little one that I love you more than anything in this world." Then she abruptly stood and ran over to the horse climbing into the saddle. When she glanced back at the tree she was happy to see that she could not see her son and knew that her spell would hide him even from her pursuers. She dug her heels into the mare and the horse instantly took off into a gallop. _Beloved Goddesses please keep my son safe_, she prayed as she closed her eyes tightly.

The boy watched as his mother rode off and did not have to wait long for their pursuers to show up. The creatures in their human shape plate armor didn't even pull back on their horses reins as they rode past him. He waited for a moment afraid that at any moment they would turn around at any second and come back. The moment became minutes and then the minutes dragged into hours the boy to afraid to move while also hoping that his mother would come back to him. When the boy heard a horse whiny his hopes soared then came crashing down when he noticed the horse though female was the wrong color to be his mothers. He watched as the person concealed beneath a dark brown cloak lead the mare across the bridge. When the boy realized the person was heading in the same direction his mother wanted him to go he cried out and raced towards the person dragging his mothers cloak behind him. He was about half way to them when he tripped over the red tunic he wore which really belonged to his father.

The boy was in the process of standing back up when he felt himself being picked up and the person held him up above them to get a good look at him. He also took the opportunity to get to know just who he had run to. The person was female and had pointed ears like both his mother and he did, but she seemed to be older than his mother even though she did not look it. Her eyes were red which he knew meant something, but at the moment he could not recall just what it was. As for her hair it was a light lilac almost gray in color and it had been pulled back into a bun. The tunic she wore was black and she had a steel chest plate over it. Her pants matched her shirt in color and she had mid-calf leather boots on. At her waist was a sheathed dagger and sword.

She smiled gently at him which only made him cry. The woman pulled him against her chest and gently hugged him. "It's alright little one your safe now," she whispered to him as he whimpered and wrapped his arms around her neck the best he could.

The woman adjusted how she was holding the boy to free one arm so she could bend down and pick the cloak up. As she straightened up she glanced in the direction the boy had come from and could see the last remnants of a spell vanishing. "Naryu's Love," she muttered to herself then shook her head as she draped the cloak over her shoulder to once again free a hand. She turned to walk towards her mare, but glanced over her shoulder one more time at the tree before she took the mare's reigns and continued down the road.

It was way past sundown by the time the woman reached the outskirts of the village the road ended at and the black rain had begun to fall. Thankfully she had reached the village before the black rain had turned into its nightly storm. By now the boy had managed to fall asleep wrapped up in what she believed to be his mothers cloak due to the clasp to keep dry. An oil lamp attached to her leather belt lit her way illuminating the now abandoned and deterring farm houses that marked the very edge of the village. The people who had lived in them had either fled to other regions or further into the village since the blasted rain had made their way of life impossible. A few crows cawed from their roof beam turned perches as she walked past. They were the only wild life left in the Eldin Province. Any other animal life where those kept by the few villagers that remained within Kakariko Village such as the woman's horse.

The woman wasn't at all surprised when she spotted another lantern further down the road and right in the middle of it. Of course she had hoped it wouldn't have been there, but then again it always was whenever she left the village. The owner of the lantern must have spotted the light from hers as well because it began to approach her. "I was beginning to worry Kera," the owner of the lantern told her as they continued to walk towards her.

"You worry too much Lith! I even told you I would be late coming back this time," she scolded though there was no real anger behind her words. She knew a part of her would have been disappointed if the man known as Lith hadn't kept an eye out for her.

When he was close enough to where she could see him and he knew it the man grinned. "It's not like there is anything else to do once the sun sets," he told her then his eyes widened and she knew he had spotted the tiny figure she held. "Kera?" he questioned taking a cautious step towards her. Not because he was afraid of the child she knew that it was more like he was afraid what the child meant.

"You act like you never seen a child before," she sighed as she held the mare's reigns out to him. "Take care of her and I'll meet you inside to explain about this one," she said patting the boy gently on the back once Lith had taken the reigns. The boy shifted slightly in his sleep and murmured something. As she walked towards her house she could feel Lith watching her. She walked up to the door and opened it up. After she had closed it behind her she leaned back against it and used it to help balance her as she used her one free had to pull off one boot then the other never once disturbing the boy. Then she undid the round metal clasp at her throat and slipped her cloak off hanging it on a peg by the door.

With a sigh she unhooked the lantern from her belt and proceeded further into her house. She passed through the main room without stopping until she reached the kitchen. Once in there she set the lantern upon the table then took a small stick out of the earthen ware jug that sat on top of a mantle above the large fireplace and lit it from the flame in the lantern to light the fireplace. That was one thing she was glad Lith did for her. Whenever she came home the fireplace always had wood in it to where she only had to light it. When she was sure the tiny flame wouldn't go out she turned her attention to the small boy. At some point between leaving Lith with the mare and now the boy had woken up. He was now starring at her with his big blue eyes.

Kera smiled at the boy as she brushed some of his dirty blond hair away from his face. "Little one, are you hungry?" she asked and the boy quickly nodded his head the same time his stomach growled. Her smile turned into a grin as she pulled a chair out away from the table. A hungry child was something she could deal with a depressed one not so much. At first when she tried to set the boy down in the chair he wouldn't let go of her. Then he had turned spotting the chair and he had slowly let go of her so she could set him down. Carefully she untangled the boy from his mothers cloak and draped it across the back of the chair he was sitting on so it could dry while at the same time still remain in the boy's sight. She then cut off the heel on a loaf of bread and handed it to him to eat while she worked on getting something cooked for a late supper.

She was about a third of the way finished when Lith showed up having finished stabling the mare and the boy's attention was immediately focused on him. There were a couple of things the boy noticed right away about him the first was that this man seemed to his young eyes to be around the same age as his father. The second was that something about him told the boy like his father this man knew how to use the sheathed sword strapped to his belt. This was the reason the boy abandoned what was left of the bread Kera had given him in favor of hoping out of the chair and wandering over to Lith. When the boy reached him and Lith looked down at him he held his arms out towards Lith in an attempt to get the man to pick him up. Lith smiled and obliged the boy bending over to pick him up. Once he was in his arms Lith walked over to the table and sat in the chair the boy had just left. "Mind telling me about him now?" Lith asked as he watched the boy pick the bread back up and continue to munch on it.

"There isn't much to tell. I just barely crossed the bridge that spanned the gorge when I heard him cry out and he came running towards me," she told him as she glanced at him over her shoulder.

"The cloak come with him?" he asked pointing over his shoulder to the cloak that rested on the back of the chair and Kera nodded.

"Humor me with this question, but you do know what this hints at right?" Lith asked gently tugging on one of the longer pieces of the boy's hair. It caused the boy to pause what he was doing and lift his head up to look at Lith curiosity clearly on his face.

"Yes I know what it means," she answered as she turned to face him. Her expression was grim for an instant, but then it was replaced with a smile so quickly Lith wondered if he had just imagined it. "Can you cook while I wash him up?"

Lith nodded as he handed the boy over to Kera who walked over to the sink. She then balanced the boy on one hip as she grabbed a towel with her free hand and placed it in the sink. Then she began to work the water pump and continued at it until the towel had gotten wet. After she had wrung the excess water out of it she used it to wipe clean the boy's hands and face. A real bath was going to have to wait until tomorrow because with how much he was wiggling with just this she had a feeling he was the type of kid who would be splashing water all over the place. After she had gotten him as clean as she could with just the towel she handed him back to Lith so she could continue cooking.

After they had finished eating supper Lith had stood to leave and head back to his own house when somebody suddenly knocked at the door. He glanced over at Kera, who had the boy sitting in her lap, at the same time she looked at him. The only people in this village that really moved around after the sun had set where Lith and Kera. She carefully maneuvered out from underneath the boy and walked over to the door Lith following her, his hand on the hilt of his sword. She lit a lantern near the door using her magic and slowly opened it up a crack. Instantly Lith noticed her muscles tensed and only her hand on his chest kept him from rushing whoever it was.

"Yes?" Kera questioned the plate armored figure. Like the boy she knew whatever inside the armor wasn't human or any other naturally occurring race within Hyrule. The black wolf with red eyes painted on the shoulder of his armor helped back that up. There was only one man who used that crest and no one in this village liked when his creatures came around. It always meant trouble for them.

"Prince Zeth requests everyone's presence in the town square," The creature rasped its voice sending a shiver down Lith's spine.

Kera slowly nodded her head and pulled back so she could close the door. "What do you think he wants this time?" Lith said as he grabbed his cloak from the peg it hung on. It wasn't needed to stop the rain from falling on them since the presence of Zeth meant the rain wouldn't be falling in the village, but he decided to take it any way.

"Do you really need to ask me that?" Kera questioned as she grabbed hers as well glancing over at the boy. From where he was in the kitchen he couldn't have heard the creature so she plastered a smile on her face. "Little one, one of our friends needs help we'll be right back," she told him and the boy slowly nodded. Then she and Lith slipped out of the house not wanting anyone to see just what they had inside it. The two of them then carefully walked to the town square joining the small crowd that was already there.

In the center of the town was a black wolf large enough to be ridden. The wolf had a wispy appearance to it almost as if it was made out of fog and its eyes were red. The wolf was the origin of the crest upon the plate armor. Standing beside it was the so called "Prince" Zeth. It had always puzzled Kera after he had taken over most of Hyrule why he had only given himself the title of prince. The man appeared to be in his mid to late twenties but Kera and everyone here knew he was at least twice that age. The man's dark red almost black hair fell into his cloud gray eyes and had been spiked in the back while the side's barley fell past his rounded ears. He wore a long black scarf wrapped around the lower part of his face that the ends of it where in tatters. His jacket was dark red and almost reached the ground with several straps done up in the front to keep it closed. On his right shoulder was the black wolf with red eyes embroidered into the cloth. The black pants he wore were tucked into his mid calf high leather boots and at his waist were strapped a sword in a worn leather scabbard. The sword had been done up to look like the legendary Master Sword, whether it was on purpose or not Kera could not be certain, but the hand guard on his sword was a very dark navy almost black in color.

From what Kera knew of the black wolf and the creatures in the plate armor had been created by his tainted magic. Supposedly they were made out of shadows and from what she had heard of the attack on Hyrule Castle they also had the ability to travel through shadows. It felt like a mockery to her whenever she saw these creatures or heard people talk about them.

Zeth leaned back against the wolf and reached out a leather gloved hand to scratch the wolf behind the ear before turning his attention to the people gathered before him. "Earlier today my men," he began motioning over to the armored creatures, "chased after a young woman carrying a small child. Now they managed to capture the mother when her horse finally gave out, but her son was not with her. From what my men have deduced the only place she could have dropped him off at was here. Now if there really is such a child here I want him brought out to me now."

Kera and Lith both glanced around at the villagers as they began talking amongst themselves. Both of them had nothing to fear because of how late she had come back no one would have spotted the child with her. "Your grace, all the children in this village have been born here!" A villager cried as he placed his hand on his sons shoulder.

Zeth slowly glanced around at the villages before pushing away from the wolf to stand up straight. "Let me rephrase what I have said, I know the boy is here and I want him brought to me!" When most of the villagers shrank away from him he turned his attention to Kera. "Come here," he told her. Lith grabbed hold of her forearm and she looked at him shaking her head. Slowly he let go and she walked over to Zeth. "Kera of the Sheikah or the Sage of Shadows whichever you prefer to be called. Is there really no such child here?"

She looked at him her expression calm as she answered him, "No there is no such child here."

Zeth smirked though his scarf hid the expression from everyone. "Now tell me Sage of Shadows why I should believe you when the Sages are openly opposing me?" he asked and shook his head before he drew his sword which he placed it against Kera's neck. Kera didn't show any reaction to the sword but several of the villagers had to hold Lith back. "If the boy is not brought to me I will kill your precious protector!" he shouted causing several of the villagers to gasp. In truth, he was unsure whether or not a mere sword could kill a Sage, but the idea of testing to see if he could did appeal to him. Lith managed to break free from the other villagers and tried to help Kera only to have one of the plated armored guards pull him away from them.

"Let me go damn it!" Lith shouted as he tried to break free of the guards grip. Zeth ignored him and waited for a bit for someone to fetch the boy or to speak up, but when no one did he pulled his sword back preparing for the killing blow. Before he could strike people began to shout in the back of the crowd and several of them moved aside as the boy rushed forward ignoring the dangerous of tripping over his father's tunic for the moment. The boy stood in front of Kera and glared up a Zeth holding the knife Kera had used to cut the bread in his small hands.

Zeth smirked once again as he sheathed his sword before kneeling down to where he could look at the boy. "No such boy, Kera? If I had to guess I would say you were the one to find him," Zeth told her as he reached for the boy. The boy's eyes narrowed as he growled at Zeth and slashed the knife at Zeth's hand causing him to pull it back as he laughed. "This young and yet even now you're trying to defy me… If nothing else I must say you do honor to your bloodline," he said to where only the boy could hear him and the boy returned to glaring at him. Zeth stood up and motioned for his guards as he took a few steps back. The guards nodded and began to move the villagers away from the two while two of them had to drag Lith back cursing them the entire time. "For crimes against your prince I sentence the both of you to death! A sentence that is to be carried out immediately!" Zeth shouted and Kera attempted to move in front of the boy as Zeth fired a black orb of energy at the two of them that exploded on impact sending the both of them flying into one of the abandoned houses. The impact was too much for the building and it ended up collapsing in on itself.

"Kera!" Lith shouted as he placed one of his hands on one of the guard's chest plate. The guard was blasted away by the Din's Fire spell Lith cast and instantly the other guard moved in to kill him.

"Let him go," Zeth told the guard and he obediently backed away as Zeth climbed onto the wolf's back. It was a bit surprising to see someone with as strong as magic as Lith had, but it didn't really concern him at the moment. "Let this be a lesson to you all!" he shouted at the villagers before the wolf took off running the guards following after him while Lith ran towards the house.

"Kera can you hear me?" he shouted as he began to pull broken wood planks away from the area the two had been blasted into. Several of the villagers ran over to help him. "For the love of the Goddesses Kera answer me!"

Kera groaned as she sat up her ears slightly ringing from the explosion. "I'm alright Lith!" she shouted as she shifted slightly.

"Thank the Goddesses!" she heard him shout and she smiled a little. If that man wasn't careful his devotion towards her was going to get him killed.

As she tried to move in order to find the boy she could feel something on her lap and as she held her hand out she hoped it was him. A small fire appeared in the palm of her hand as she cast Din's fire and she sighed with relief when the light revealed it was the boy. He moved a bit but then stopped and she realized he was unconscious. Kera then reached out with her other hand trying to figure out why they hadn't been crushed when the house had obviously collapsed on top of them. Her hand seemed to hit something and even though she couldn't see what it had hit no matter how hard she pushed she couldn't move her hand any farther. For a moment a clear blue wall appeared in front of her eyes before going invisible again. "Naryu's Love…" she whispered as she glanced down at the boy since she had never learned how to use that spell and obviously as she had learned earlier someone had in his family. As if answering her unspoken question on the back of the boy's left hand appeared the Triforce symbol the Triforce of Courage glowing brighter than the other two showing he was the carrier of that piece of the Triforce.

Kera ripped a sleeve of her shirt off wrapping the fabric around the boy's small hand to hide the symbol. While it glowed it would still show through the cloth but from what she knew of from stories once the Triforce had shown itself the mark would remain on the bearer's hand. After the demonstration Zeth just gave to the villagers there was a chance if someone saw the symbol they would report it to Zeth. That was the last thing she needed to worry about right now. For his sake she hoped the stories she heard weren't true and that the Triforce symbol would vanish completely at least until he was able to protect himself.

As she waited for the others to dig them out she couldn't help looking up and smiling a little. "It seems you have not abandoned us after all my most beloved Goddesses," she said as she ran her fingers through the boy's small hair. He mumbled something in his sleep causing her to look down at him and direct her smile towards him. "Although I must admit I was expecting someone a tad bit older to appear…"

(A/N - The rest of this chapter is basically filler and to show you different points in Link's life just for fun :3. It also is meant to give you a more in depth look into just how this very interesting family lived. There will be three different time periods in all before we catch up with the present time for this story.)

About three years had passed since the young boy had decided to run out to Kera. The boy had hit a growth spurt, but was still notably smaller than the other boy's his age in the village. It didn't really upset him, but Lith had seemed concerned about until Kera had reminded him that everyone grew at their own rate. At the moment the boy was in one of the abandoned barns a slingshot in hand. The slingshot had been a gift from Lith a week or so back along with the small cloth pouch that was tied to his leather belt. The pouch was used to store stones that were used as the ammunition for his sling shot.

As for the reason he was in the barn Lith had set up small wooden targets throughout it to keep the boy from accidentally shooting someone or something with the slingshot. He was about ready to take aim on one of the targets sitting on the edge of the barns loft when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see who it was and smiled when he realized it was Lith. "How is practice going Link?" Lith asked as he walked over to him and ruffled the boy's already messy hair. The boy had tried to tame some of it by copying the way Lith had his shoulder length dark brown hair pulled back into a pony tail at the base of his neck. It had failed since most of his hair had managed to escape the pony tail by now.

"I hit that one," Link answered pointing his finger at the target hanging right above the door to a horse coral.

"Only one so far?" Lith asked looking at the boy. The boy had been practicing almost none stop when the sun was out since he had gotten the slingshot. He had already been hitting multiple targets, granted not dead center, but he was still hitting them. It was almost noon and Link had run to the barn as soon as he finished what little chores he had after eating breakfast.

"Was afraid of hitting them," he answered pointing up to the crows that where in the higher rafters. Lith looked up at them now understanding why the boy had been hesitating in his practice. Somehow the crows had ended up on Link's list of things he didn't want to harm while to everyone else in the village they were annoying pests. As long as they were here the boy wouldn't take any chances with his slingshot. Lith bent and picked up a rock about the size of his palm. When he straightened up he threw it as hard as he could at an iron bucket near the back doors of the barn. It hit with a loud clang causing the crows to scatter in different directions.

"There now you won't have to worry about them," Lith told him and Link smiled up at him. Then the two of them heard a horse whinny and instantly the boy's face lit up as he took off running towards the road. As for Lith he let out a sad sigh as he followed after the boy. Every time the boy heard a horse coming down the road from the direction of Hyrule Field he ran to see if there was a chance that his mother was coming back. Kera and he both had tried to explain the likely hood of his mother escaping from Zeth, but the boy refused to give up even after all this time. If nothing else at least the boy didn't give up easily.

By the time Lith had reached the side of the road it was obvious that once again it wasn't the boy's mother. Instead it was the caravan of wagons returning from the Kokiri Forest filled with supplies the village needed. When he looked down at Link he was surprised to see that the boy was crying. "Link," Lith began as he reached out for the boy. Just before his hand could reach the boy several things happened at once. A team of horses near the end of the caravan let out a cry of panic and took off running at the same time a high pitch shrill came from the back of the wagon the panic horses where attached to. Lith also thought he heard Kera shout something from further within the village, but he couldn't have been sure.

Lith quickly picked Link up and ran out of the way of the panicking horses. Then he watched as the horses rushed past them. They had barely past them when Link began to struggle against the hold Lith had on him. "Kera!" the boy shouted and Lith turned to look in the direction of the village in time to see Kera having to dodge the out of control horses as well. It was also then that Lith noticed the black foggy creature tearing the back of the wagon up. Lith set Link down and the boy instantly took off running towards Kera. He stopped in his tracks, however, when he felt a large amount of magic rush past him. Link watched as a Din's Fire spell hit the creature in the back. It cried out in pain as it let go of the back of the wagon and fell to the ground.

Link glanced back at Lith in time to see some of the remnants of the fire spell dancing along Lith's outstretched arm. Then Lith let his arm drop to his side as he rushed towards the creature. When Link look forward again he could see that Kera had already reached the creature and was attempting to attack it with the sword she had in hand. The creature fired a blast of magic at her and she rolled to the side to dodge the attack throwing several knife at it once she was on her feet again. The creature shrieked lifting its head up to the sky when one of the knifes hit one of its red eyes. Lith took advantage of the slight distraction and ran forward to slash horizontally at the creatures now exposed neck.

The creature seemed to sense Lith's attack and it jumped back to avoid the attack then it attempted to attack Lith in return with one of its many razor sharp legs. Lith blocked the attack with his sword and was pushed back slightly from the force of the attack. The creature continued to push Lith back hoping to make him loose his footing. With his attention on Lith, Kera was free to cast Farore's Wind to teleport above the creature so she could land on its back. Then she drove her sword downward into its back causing the creature to rear its head as it cried out it pain. Lith pushed aside the creature's leg and stabbed the creature in its throat. The creatures cry ceased as it slowly began to dissipate.

Kera pulled her sword free from the creature and jumped down just before it finished vanishing completely. "That was certainly unexpected," Kera told Lith as she walked up beside him patting him on the shoulder before she sheathed her sword. The creatures didn't have blood within their magically created body so she never had to worry about cleaning her sword after she had killed one.

"What was even the purpose of its attack?" Lith wondered as he looked at Kera sheathing his sword.

"Most likely Zeth was hoping it would destroy the supplies," she answered as she turned her attention to Link. The boy was starring at the two of them wide eyed. He then leaned slightly to the side so he could look past them to see if the creature was still there or not. When he saw it had completely vanished he ran over to Kera stuffing the slingshot into his belt before gripping the hem of Kera's tunic. He buried his face in her tunic for a moment before looking up at her with concern. She looked down at him and smiled. When she noticed he had been crying she looked at Lith who pointed to the horses and she understood what he was trying to tell her. She looked back at Link again and smiled bigger as she ran her fingers through his hair. "How would you like to begin learning how to use a sword?" she asked.

Link's eyes widen in surprise as he realized what Kera had just asked him. "Really?" he asked.

"Really," she said with a grin before looking at Lith. "That is if our little armory happens to have something in his size?" Kera questioned.

"We still have that sword and shield set that I used when I was his age," Lith answered. Granted when he was his age Lith was taller, but it should still be good enough for now.

"Hmm, I remember that. I also remember how you never took to the shield," she told him and Lith just shrugged.

"Come on Link. Let's go see if we can find it," Lith told the boy as he took his hand and began to lead the boy towards his house where the "armory" was at. It was really weapons his father had brought with him when he had escaped Hyrule Castle having been a guard there and whatever weapons had been left behind in the village when the others had fled. Kera watched them go before turning her attention to the wagon that had been attacked. Without the creature on the back of it the driver had managed to get the horses back under control and he was now checking on the damage.

"How bad is it?" Kera asked as she walked over to the wagon.

"We can repair the wagon, but it managed to get at some of the food," the man answered pointing to a few sacks of grain that the creature had ripped open.

"Take it to the Potion Maker's house. She'll have to test it to see if we can eat it after that thing touched the grain," Kera told him and the man nodded as he called over some people to help him move the sacks. She then walked over to where the creature had been slain and kneeled down to get a look at the ground. It had turned black slightly having been tainted by the magic that had made the creature when it was killed. She placed her hand on the ground and concentrated as white ropes of magic raced down her arm and into the ground until it returned to its original color.

By the time she stood up again Link and Lith were walking towards him. She could see the hilt of the sword over his right shoulder as well as the shield. It was also obvious Lith had attempted to tame Link's hair better then Link had in order to keep his hair out of his eyes. It seemed to be working for now, but she had a feeling it wouldn't last. When Link spotted her his face lit up and waved at her then began to run towards her.

"Are we starting today?" Link asked when he reached her.

"Yes we are," she answered then began to lead him to a more isolated area of the village. What Link didn't realize was that this would only be the beginning of what Lith and Kera had in store for him.

A now twelve year old Link sat on a bench near the center of the village waiting for Lith and Kera. The boy by now had managed to catch up in height with the other boy's his age. His dirty blond hair had calmed down somewhat to where as long as he kept it pulled back in the short pony tail he favored it would stay there. His sword and shield where currently strapped to his back even though Kera had given him the morning off to play with his friend Lea. He believed he was suppose to meet them here to pick up the training from yesterday so he had fetched them before coming here. Thanks to the training Kera and Lith had been putting him through he was starting to develop lean muscles throughout his body. He still had a bit of baby fat to his face though making him appear younger then he really was.

The boy sighed as he stood up and stretched his arms and back yawning slightly. "Link!" he heard someone call and he turned around spotting Lith and Kera. His eyes widened when he realized they were leading a young foal towards him. He walked around the bench and over to them to look at the foal. From what he could tell it was a young brown mare with a tan star and stripe marking on her face as well as tan sock markings. Her tail and mane where also tan in color. "What type of horse is she?" Link asked as he gently pet the foal's nose.

"She's a Belgian and her name is Epona," Kera answered her. Link knew it to be the same type the caravan used to pull the wagons.

"Why did you bring her over here?" Link asked out of confusion as he looked at the two of them. He had also stopped petting the mare and she nudged his hand gently to get his attention back on her. He smiled softly and began petting her once again.

"That's because she's yours," Lith explained. Instantly Link looked up at them his shock showing on his face.

Slowly that shock turned into a grin as he looked back down at the mare. "She's really mine?" he asked his voice full of awe.

"Yes she is," Kera answered laughing slightly. Link looked up at them grinning then he ran over to Kera and hugged her then over to Lith to hug him as well.

"Thank you!" he told them then felt something tugging on his tunic. He turned to look behind him to find the mare was trying to get his attention back on her. Link laughed as he gently wrapped his arms around her neck.

"For now you'll learn how to ride on either mine or Lith's horse until she is old enough to be ridden herself. It will be your job to take care of her Link understand?" Kera asked.

Link looked over his shoulder at her still grinning. "Yes!" he told her as the mare began to nibble on the back of his tunic. The rest of the day was spent on Link's first lessons on riding. Epona had been returned to her mother, but because Link's lessons where happening outside of where she was corralled the young horse kept following him to the best of her ability causing him to laugh on several occasions. The lessons where finished before the sun began to set so Link spent the rest of the time getting to know Epona and her mother better. When he had to head home the mare was not happy to see him go so he had promised her that he would return tomorrow. Whether or not she understood him it seemed to be enough to keep her calm.

It had been two weeks since Kera had attempted to test Link on his survival skills now that he was fifteen only to have it end disastrously. He had been left in an area of Hyrule Field he had never been before on his own with Epona to see just how he would fare on his own. Of course with the scarce wild life Epona's saddle bags had travel food stored in them as well as food for the mare itself. They had also been given enough water to last them the first day after that Link was suppose to find water for himself and Epona since the water that had been tainted with black rain could be drank that long safely. The test was meant to last for five days and on the fifth day Kera would come check on him. Of course without him knowing both her and Lith had set up a camp pretty near him, but in a spot he wouldn't be able to stumble upon them.

The first few days had gone by without trouble the only thing even worth noting in the journal Kera made him keep was a random attack by a small pack of Stalhounds. They had appeared on the night of the second day just as the rain had begun to fall and Link had dealt with them easy enough with the normal size sword Lith had given him not that long ago. Due to the way the black rains acted once the moon had reached its highest point Link would spend that part of the night drenched and unable to sleep. He would be dry by the time noon came much like the ground and so he really didn't pay much attention to it. He did, however, when he began to feel nauseated to the point of the third day he was unable to keep anything down except for small bits of bread.

As for the fourth day Link barley remembered what had occurred. The one thing he could really recall was going to fetch water for him and Epona, but nothing really after that. As for the fifth day… Link didn't remember anything at all. The next thing he could remember was waking up about three days later in his own bed in the loft of Kera's house. With how relieved both Kera and Lith had been upon finding him awake he had wondered just how bad things had gotten. Kera had told him in his attempt to get water he had stumbled and fell hitting his head on a rock. They had found him there when they had went to retrieve him on the fifth day and had rushed back to the village. The old lady that ran the potion shop had told them they had been lucky they hadn't lost him.

She had also told them that after Link had woken up and had told them what had happened that most likely for some reason the black rain had an effect on him that it didn't on anyone else. She had advised that he avoid prolong exposures to it or risk it happening again. It didn't really upset him that much either. For as long back as he could remember he never really did like being out when the rains began. Maybe it was because some part of him realized being out in the rain was dangerous for him? Or maybe at some point his father, mother or even his grandfather went through the same thing Kera and Lith did two weeks ago and had warned him against it which had stuck with him the entire time.

The thought of his family made him pause in his thoughts as he looked away from updating the annoying journal of his and glanced out the only window in the loft. He had a lantern lit on the small wooden dresser beneath the window making it to where the only raindrops he could see where the ones that where right next to the window. He couldn't help but wonder if it upset Kera and Lith that he still called them by their names instead of calling them mother or father. It wasn't like there was a part of him that still jumped every time he heard a horse coming into Kakariko Village, but he did still hope that his parents would find him someday.

Yes, the youth knew that the likely hood of his mother still being alive after being captured by Zeth was slim, but he couldn't remember if anything had happened to his father and grandfather. The only thing he really could remember of that night was awakening to the sounds of screams echoing through the tiny village they lived in. Then the feeling of choking on the smoke filled air as his mother ran with him in her arms to the stables and that was about it. The entire journey on horseback that eventually lead up to him being left behind by that tree was quite clear to him and he wished it wasn't. Even if his mother had left him behind in order to save him he always felt an ache in his chest whenever he thought about it.

With a sigh Link set the journal to the side and carefully set the charcoal he had been writing with on top of it so he could move to the edge of his bed. Once there he stood up and wandered over to the dresser and pulled open the top door pulling a small leather bundle out of it. As he carefully unwrapped it, he kept his attention on it as he walked back over to his bed to sit down on the edge. The object inside of it was his mother's lilac cloak clasp. The cloak itself had been stored some place in one of the wooden chest within the room Kera used as storage to keep it from being destroyed along with his father's old tunic. The clasp itself was in very good condition since Kera had polished it every couple of months for him until he had been old enough to do the task himself.

He carefully ran his calloused thumb over it as he stared at the shinny piece of metal thinking over carefully about how he treated Lith and Kera. The two of them treated him as if he was their son even if Lith did live in his own home. Both of them where there whenever he needed them and would listen to whatever it was he had to say. Of course they made him do things that didn't always make since to him such as forcing him to read all those books they had started forcing on him soon after he had gotten Epona. Not to mention the variety of weapons training he had and still was going through. It left him confused and more than once he had been tempted to throw one of the army tactic's books across the room out of frustration. It was at those times that either Lith or Kera or even both of them would show up and help explain what he didn't understand.

Had he been fair to them? Keeping them at arm's length like he had? It wasn't like he had done it on purpose if he really had it was something he had done unconsciously in his attempt to keep the two families separate in his mind. After all he had only spent five years with his real… Once again he paused in mid thought once he realized just what he had been thinking. His eyes narrowed as he began to feel disgusted at himself for even thinking for a second that Kera and Lith weren't part of his real family. Quite quickly he wrapped the clasp back up in the leather and stormed over to his dresser as he shoved in into the bottom of the top drawer. Then he slammed the drawer shut and walked back over to his bed flopping down on top of it after which he folded his arms across his chest.

He realized too late that most likely Kera and Lith had heard him stomping around up here as well as the drawer being slammed shut. His suspicions were confirmed when he realized he couldn't hear the two of them talking in the main room below him. He knew neither of them would come up here while he was awake unless he invited them so with a sigh he stood up and walked over to the edge of the loft then slowly climbed down the ladder. When he had stepped down off the ladder onto the floor and turned towards the center of the room he was not surprised to see Lith and Kera looking at him.

"Link, is something wrong?" Kera asked.

He hesitated in answering her as he tried to collect his thoughts together to give her a good explanation as to why he was upset. He looked at the floor as he thought and the two waited patiently for him to speak. He grabbed his upper right arm with his left hand as he thought of just how to word what he wanted to tell them. "I was thinking about my mother, father and grandfather," he began as he looked up at the two of them. Lith and Kera looked at each other in that silent communication thing they could do, something Link was envious about, before looking back at him.

"And?" Kera asked and Link noticed there was slight fear in her voice which made him stare at her for a moment.

_Why is she afraid of what I'm about to say?_ He wondered before he continued to speak, "I thought about how I had only been with them for five years and how short it was compared to the ten years I have spent with you two yet I still call them my parents…" He wouldn't tell them that he had also for a few seconds had seen them as his real family while excluding Kera and Lith from it. That was something he would never tell them.

Kera and Lith both noticed how Link took a few deep slow breaths in attempt to keep himself calm. It was something Kera had taught him when he was younger once she had learned that he wasn't one that could keep something in if he had been upset. They couldn't help but wonder just what had managed to get the youth so worked up in the short time he had been up in the loft after supper. "I…" he began but paused as he shook his head and let his left arm drop back down to his side. "You've raised me for so long as your son yet I-I… Why is it whenever I think of mother or father, I see them instead of you?" he shouted in confusion as he shut his eyes tightly.

Link heard two sets of footsteps come towards him and then felt as someone pulled him into a tight embrace. He tensed for a moment before relaxing into the hug then hugged them back just as tightly as he buried his face into their shoulder. Since he was the same height as the person who was hugging him it was easy enough to figure out that it was Kera who had pulled him into the embrace.

Kera could feel tears begin to soak the shoulder of her tunic as she gently began to run her fingers through Link's loose hair. She looked at Lith a slight look of confusion on her face as she was still trying to figure out what exactly had brought this on. When he seemed to have calmed down a bit Kera gently pushed him back so she could look him in the eyes. "Link, you don't have to push yourself into calling us you parents," she told him a soft smile on her face as she wiped some tears off his cheeks.

"But-" he began only to have her place her index finger on his lips to get him to stop. He almost flinched away from her because of what it made him recall but he managed to stop himself. After all it wasn't her fault. He had never really told her what had happened when his mother had left him there at the tree.

"Link it doesn't matter to us what you call us by. We know that you love us and that's all that really matters," she told him and he slowly nodded his head.

Lith reached over Kera's shoulder and ruffled Link's hair. "All that matters to us Link is that you're happy and healthy," Lith told him and Link looked up at him smiling. He was a bit curious as to why Kera had sounded scared when he had started speaking, but he decided that was something he could ask her about later. For now he just made a silent promise to himself that one of these days he would call Kera and Lith by the title they truly deserved.

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><p>AN - I hoped you like the look into the life of Link, Kera, and Lith. The beginning of the next chapter will be the start of the true beginning of the young man's adventures. I really had fun writing these little glimpses into Link's life before things began to drastically change around him :3


	2. The Boy becomes a Man

Disclaimer – Legend of Zelda is copyrighted to Nintendo.

A/N- Okay this isn't as from scratch as I would like, but the main thing that irked me so much was how I was trying to depict a game world instead of a real world and I think I have managed to correct that mistake. The most annoying thing about this story is figuring out just how Link is supposed to carry all of his equipment in a realistic world xD. Please not this chapter was split in half since I did not like the idea of posting a chapter over twelve thousand words that was just way too much to me. Thanks to FF . net updates summary and rating no longer needed in chapter will remove them from the first chapter later on.

I am so sorry it took me so long to get this up x_x

Thank you to those who have added this story to their favorites and story alerts :3. Also thank you to those who have stopped in to check out my story ^-^

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><p>The Boy becomes a Man<p>

_Lith reached over Kera's shoulder and ruffled Link's hair. "All that matters to us Link is that you're happy and healthy," Lith told him and Link looked up at him smiling. He was a bit curious as to why Kera had sounded scared when he had started speaking, but he decided that was something he could ask her about later. For now he just made a silent promise to himself that one of these days he would call Kera and Lith by the title they truly deserved._

Kera swiftly walked through the village not really noticing those who were attempting to greet her as she walked past them. Right now she was too busy trying to locate her son who was very late in meeting her in the place she had designated yesterday afternoon. She had even reminded him at least three times last night of the meeting and he had promised her that he would be there. _For his sake he better be at home_, she thought to herself as she quickly walked up to the front door of their home and opened it up swiftly almost causing the door to slam into the wall in the process. From the doorway she could easily see into the main room and the kitchen as well neither of which he was in. That only left the loft since he wouldn't have gone into her room and the storage which turning her head to the right showed he wasn't in it so if he was here it had to be the loft.

Normally she wouldn't have gone up there without receiving his permission especially now that he was seventeen, but at the moment she was a bit upset at him so she climbed up the ladder only to find the loft empty. Eyes narrowing, she quickly climbed down the ladder and walked outside slamming the door shut behind her causing someone who was walking past her to flinch. They wisely hurried along their way before they did something that would result in her taking her anger out on them. Kera hadn't really noticed them and she cupped her hands around her mouth so her voice would carry more as she shouted as loud as she could, _"Link!"_

Link was lying on his back asleep on the floor of the abandoned barn Lith had converted into a practice area for him. A straw dummy hung from the center support beam for the roof above him as he had been practicing attacking with his sword from the saddle. Which was the reason Epona stood close to him; silently watching over him as the young man slept peacefully. The Belgian mare wasn't the only one watching over the sleeping youth. Several crows sat up in the higher rafters watching, but they weren't as silent as the mare. Every once in awhile one of them would flap their wings in order to stretch them or would let out a caw as if to remind the others that it was still there. Still it wasn't hard to see that their attention was, in fact, on Link.

The years of training he had gone through under the watchful eye of Kera and Lith had removed all traces of baby fat from him leaving only lean muscles in its wake, but even without it he had a childish serene look to his face especially when he was asleep like this. His one handed steel sword with its leather sheath and his wooden shield lay on the ground next to him along with the gray tunic he had stripped off along with his belt, which had a large knife attached to it, before laying down because of how hot the training had made him.

With age his dirty blond hair had finally became tamable. His bangs had been split above his right eye causing most of his bangs to attempt to fall in his left one when they weren't kept trimmed. The rest of his hair was shoulder length most of which had been pulled back into the low pony tail he favored. Only the hair in front of his pointy ears had been left alone. Normally he would have been wearing elbow length leather gauntlets but those had been removed at the same time as his tunic and belt. Instead only a pristine white bandage wrapped around his left hand and about half way up his forearm to cover the Triforce mark upon the back of his hand. Not that the youth really knew what it was. Kera had been able to explain it away as a birthmark and one that he must hide to keep others from seeing it. It was just one o the many things that Kera made him do that confused him. Instead of wearing pants Link had a tendency of favoring leather breeches since they ended right where his leather boots began. Each side of the breeches near the bottom had a couple of finger lengths worth of leather string that was laced trough the holes in the breeches to tie them shut.

Epona's ears flicked and she lifted her head up to look in the direction the house was in. Then she lowered it and began to nibble at Link's bangs. At first he just mumbled in his sleep and tried to swat her away with his hand, but she kept at it until he opened his eyes. Once she was certain he was awake she lifted her head back up to where Link had to lean his head back slightly so he could look at her. "What?" he mumbled as he rubbed at his eyes with his hands. When nothing obvious showed itself he closed his eyes again in an attempt to fall back asleep.

"_Link!"_

Link's eyes shot open as he quickly rolled onto his hands and knees grabbing for his tunic. He pulled it on over his head then put his belt on over it followed by the shoulder sheath for his sword. Next went on his gauntlets and then as he stood up he picked his shield up in order to attach it to the sheath. Link then ran over to Epona and pulled himself up into the saddle. The mare sensed his urgency so he had barely enough time to actually settle down into the saddle before she took off in a gallop. At least he had enough time to dodge the practice dummy and was able to duck in order to keep from hitting his head on the upper part of the doorway.

Once Epona was out of the barn Link grabbed the reins and urged her to turn to where she would be heading further into the village. As they rode past one house a young man around his age working on a saddle called after him, "You're in trouble now Link!" Link couldn't help but to agree with him. If he was lucky Kera wouldn't be to mad with him. After all he _had_ been practicing before he had fallen asleep. That had to account for something… right?

He had a bad feeling that it wouldn't when he saw Kera standing in front of the well near the center of the town with her hands on her hips. With a grimace he gently pulled back on Epona's reigns to slow her down until she stopped completely in front of Kera. She waited until he had climbed off the mares back before speaking to him. "Link I thought you knew how important this was!" she scolded and he winced slightly. He really hadn't meant to fall asleep just to take a break but it still had happened. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as he spoke, "Please tell me you were at least doing something useful and lost track of time not that you were off somewhere sleeping!" The way he instantly looked at the ground told her he had indeed been asleep. She let her hands drop to her sides as she bent slightly so she could look him in the eyes. She didn't have to bend very far since he had overtaken her in height this year. "I'm beginning to wonder if you really want to do this," she told him causing him to left his head up, his eyes slightly wider than normal, to look at her as she straightened back up.

"No, Kera, I really do! I was just too excited last night that I couldn't sleep!" he assured her afraid she might really change her mind on him. It wouldn't be fair if she did either because of the grueling test she had put him through yesterday that he had no doubt would be causing bruises to appear on his body for days to come. Of course Kera knew the true reason he had been sleeping and in all fairness she couldn't really put the blame on the boy. Ever since that accident during his survival training Link would spend a few hours in the afternoon napping. At first it had alarmed both her and Lith, but after dealing with it for two years the two of them had gotten use to it. She just wished she knew why it was happening to him.

Kera smiled softly as she reached up to ruffle his bangs. "All right then I'll accept that as a reasonable excuse, even I it is a bit of a childish one. Come on follow me then…" she told him as she began heading towards the back of the village. Link quickly nodded his head and followed after her leading Epona behind him in case Kera did decide to change her mind after all.

The path they were taking would lead them to the graveyard that was watched over by the village. Link had always been curious just how long it had taken to make the graveyard because the entrance to it had been carved out of a cliff that had risen when the mountain the village was built at the base of had erupted many hundreds of years ago. They had carved a long ways back into the cliff and the path to the graveyard was barely wide enough for Epona to walk it beside him. On the rock walls that lined the path there were several different battle scenes that had sent many to the grave etched into the rock. There were also a few carvings of Poe as a sort of warning even if the pesky ghosts mainly appeared at night time.

It took them a bit to reach the area that opened up into the graveyard and Link tied Epona to a hitch just at the entrance of it before following Kera further in. Their destination was the Hylian Royal Family tomb where several generations of the family had been buried. At some point before Zeth had taken over Hyrule a newer graveyard had been built and there had been plans of transferring those buried in the tomb there, but it never happened. Kera stopped once she had reached the front of the marker that stood above the underground tomb and spoke, "As I have told you in the past it has been the Shiekah's job to protect the Hylian Royal Family and it's also became one family member's job to protect Kakariko Village…" As she spoke she gently ran her hand over the Hylian Royal Family's crest that was carved into the marble. Link nodded his head to show he was listening before turning to face the marker.

"I have also told you that Zeth is not part of this family, if fact he isn't even from Hyrule, and only my brethren know just where the true heir is hidden. They feared the secret would be revealed if they trusted anyone with it so they told no on where they have fled to… However," she began turning her attention to Link and in turn Link turned to look at her, "I have trained you like any Sheikah would train their own child while Lith has done his best to train you as a knight even if only his father had been one. I cannot leave the village and Lith is afraid to leave me as the only defender of this village so the both of us hope that maybe someday you will be able to find the heir and help mine and your brethren, since you are my son, restore them to the throne."

"Could I really do that?" Link questioned looking at Kera slightly confused. She had never mentioned this to him before…

"It's possible, Link. After all they and many other people in Hyrule are waiting for a reason to come out of hiding and rally together to fight against Zeth. Why couldn't that reason be you?" she asked him and Link had to think on that. Could he really do something like that? It was very hard for him to imagine it.

Kera took a step towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder smiling softly. "Don't think too hard on it, Link. That is something to worry about for another time let's focus on the now," she told him having seen just how hard he was thinking about it by the expression on his face. Link slowly nodded more than happy to worry about it later. "I am very proud of you Link and as you have proven to me yesterday that you are no longer a child, but a man it is Sheikah custom that I give these to you," she told him as she reached into the pouch at her waist and pulled out two blue hoop earrings that were made from a special stone. She placed one in Link's hand while she removed the back from the one she still held. The earring posts were very sharp as their purpose was meant to pierce. "Now hold still I don't need you fidgeting around why I do this," she warned him as she leaned forward taking his right ear in her free hand as she pushed the sharp post of the earring through his ear.

Link bit his bottom lip as she pierced his ear in an attempt to keep himself from pulling away from her out of instinct. When she was finished she put the back on the earring then repeated the process with his left ear. "There done!" she told him as she took a step back and Link smiled. "Now that we're finished with that it is probably best we leave as to not tempt any Poe's into appearing. Not that we couldn't beat them, but once they do appear it takes forever for them to get bored and leave. Some of the other villagers do visit these graves," she told him.

Link nodded and began to head back to the village, but he paused as he looked over his shoulder at her. "Thank you," he told her as he smiled then he took off running towards the village only pausing long enough to untie Epona.

Kera chuckled as she watched Link and Epona disappear down the path. "In a lot of way's Link you are still just a child. Not that it's a bad thing since it was the ignorance of adults that got us in the situation we are in now," she said shaking her head as she glanced behind her. The rock wall behind the tomb marker had a platform carved in it near the middle of the rock wall making it at least twice as tall as Link off the ground. A small wooden fence was right at the edge of the platform and went across the opening in it. What not many people knew outside of the village was that on that platform and carved into the rock was the Temple of Shadows. Very few people in the village knew exactly how to get into it while she herself knew several. She had told everyone that had ever asked her about it including Link that the only way to get up there was a very old song that worked much like Farore's Wind and would teleport you up there.

Of course Kera knew the song, but it wasn't the way she got up there. One of the graves within the graveyard was fake and when pushed could act as a back door to the temple. It fit the temple in a morbid way having its back door hidden within a grave. Of course the true purpose behind it had been because no on within the village would be willing to mess with the graves and would try to stop anyone else that tried thus the doorway would most likely never be found.

Kera's face turned pal as a sharp pain struck her in the chest causing her to wince "Just how much longer do I have in this world?" she wondered aloud waiting for the pain to vanish. She had lasted a lot longer than the other Sages had. Besides her the only ones that were left was the Sage of Light and the Forest Sage. The Sage of Light was old and was right in the middle of the territory Zeth controlled. They were literally living on borrowed time since Zeth just hadn't seen any reason to go after them just yet. As for the Forest Sage Kera had no doubt that they would outlast her. After all they had the Great Deku Tree there to lend them support along with several Great Fairies if the rumors where true. With a sigh she turned to head back towards the village. "I had hoped to last long enough to be one of the ones to see him of when he decided it was time to leave the village.." she muttered as she walked since she did not have hope of lasting another year.

When Link exited the path to the graveyard back into the village he was a bit shocked to see everyone that was left in the village gathered around waiting for him. "Congratulations Link!" Lith shouted as he slapped Link on the back. Lith's presence explained the rest of the villagers. He had most likely rounded them up and since Lea wasn't there Link figured that the caravan hadn't come back yet since Lea had been volunteered by his father to help out this time. The villagers had long memories and of course they still remembered what had happened the day Link had shown up in the village. They knew as long as Link lived there their lives where in great risk. They also knew that he meant a lot to Kera which was one thing that kept them from turning him into Zeth besides the fact they hated Zeth. It was also because if they had turned him in most likely the fact that Kera had survived would be revealed as well and they did not want her to die. Thus they settled on keeping their distance from him for their own safety. Of course the younger people in the village, like Lea for example, had a tendency of hanging out with Link much to their parent's distress.

Link blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank you…" he said smiling softly. The other villagers began to congratulate him as well and he had to pull back once when a small child tried to touch his ears. This had caused the others to laugh because of how quickly he had moved. They talked for awhile, but soon they began to leave one by one in order to finish the work they had waiting for them, except Lith of course. Link sighed and turned when he heard Kera walk up.

Kera smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder then looked at Lith. "Come, let us get something to eat," she told them and Link nodded as the three of them began to head towards Kera and Link's house.

It was late in the afternoon by the time Link returned to the only functioning stable in the village in order to retrieve Epona. He had stabled the mare after eating and had gotten in some sword practice with Lith before the caravan had returned and someone from it had reported seeing shadow creatures on the way into town. Lith had given the job of taking care of them to Link thus why he was at the stable.

With a soft smile he walked up to the mare and gently pet her on the nose with one hand while fishing out a sugar cube from his pockets with the other. Once the sugar cube had been presented to her the mare quickly ate the rare treat up as if afraid Link would change his mind about giving it to her. He continued to pet her for awhile before he grabbed the bridle from where it was stored and opened the horse stall so he could put it on her. When he was certain the bridle was on right he proceeded to saddle her as well. Once finished he took hold of the reins and lead her out of the stall and then out of the stable as well.

Lith was waiting for him outside of the stable with Link's quiver, bow and cloak in hand. He handed the quiver to Link and waited as Link attached it to his belt before handing over Link's brown cloak. Link had to undo the strap for his sword and hand it and the shield over to Lith before he could pull the cloak on. Once he had the metal clasp closed he took the sword back and strapped it on then replaced the shield on the swords sheath. "Try not to stay out to long, Link. I doubt Kera would be very happy if you stayed out until it began to rain and got sick because of it," Lith warned as Link climbed up into Epona's saddle. When he had settled into the saddle Lith handed his bow up to him.

"I'll get back before then," he promised not liking the idea of being out in the rain as well. He tapped Epona with his heel to get her to start walking as he directed her to the road so they could head out of the village. As she walked down the road Link wondered what it was about him that made him have the reactions he did to the black rain. As far as he knew he was the only one that did since the black rain was only bad to others if they drank too much of it, but that was it. The crows that hung around the village didn't seem to be affected by it either. Of course they snuck drinks from the horses troughs when they thought no one was looking so something must happen if they drank the black rain to much as well.

Link pulled Epona off the road once they got near the bridge and instead had her walk up to the edge of the gorge. For the most part the gorge separated the village from most of Hyrule Field and since it was located near the village it had been named after it. Link did not know just how deep it was but from where he sat upon Epona's back he could hear the river that had carved the gorge out in the first place. The youth had never been very interested in finding out either because like every other water source outside of the village the river was tainted by the black rain and he did not want to risk falling into it.

Link adjusted the clasp on his cloak slightly as he turned his attention skyward. According to the person who had reported the shadow creatures the caravan had been attacked when they were about to cross the gorge. The man had told Lith and him that the shadow creatures where bird like. After the last time they had been attacked by such a creature none of them were willing to take the trip to Kokiri Forest until these new ones had been dealt with which was what Link was trying to do. _I wonder why Lea didn't get any of them… He told me he would be taking his bow with him,_ Link thought as he tried to spot the shadowy bird like creatures.

Thankfully, he wasn't sitting there for very long before he noticed black specks in the sky. He grabbed an arrow from his quiver and notched it. From this distance he couldn't tell exactly what it was and he wasn't going to take a chance of accidentally shooting a crow so he was forced to wait. Slowly it began to descend and after awhile Link could tell just what it was. The black fog creature was defiantly bird like in the wing sense, but not the rest of it. The body seemed either dog or feline in origin, but he wasn't certain which it was while the head seemed to be modeled after a dragons. As for its tail it appeared to be a large scorpion tail which made Link wonder if it was somehow poisonous or if it was just for show. Even after seeing it if he still somehow had doubts of its origins the thing wisp like tendrils coming off the creature's body cinched it.

_I should have gone to talk to Lea about this before heading out here, _Link thought as he pulled back on the bow string and arrow aiming at the foggy creature as he followed its movements for a bit before he let the arrow fly. As the arrow sought out its target Link quickly grabbed another arrow and fired it off as well. The first arrow missed as the shadow creature dove to avoid it while the second one, for Link had anticipated what it was likely to do, found its target and the creature never managed to pull out of its dive. Link patted the mare on the neck smiling slightly. "That's one down, Epona, but they reported there was at least two more..." he muttered as he looked around for the remaining two.

A high shrill like noise was all the warning Link got as something dove at him from behind. Link could have easily dodged the attack, but it would have left Epona opened to it. He gritted his teeth as he felt claws slash at his left shoulder and as it tried to pull away from him Link drew his sword with his left hand keeping a hold of his bow with his right and slashed it in half. Link then sheathed the sword so he could gently tug back on the reins causing Epona to back up. As she did Link watched as the creature dissolved into nothingness. Once Epona had backed away from the gorge Link glanced around trying to find the third one.

_Stupid fool,_ the thought echoed through his head but it was not his own. It was another side affect from the disastrous survival training test, one he had chosen to hide from others. _If you hadn't moved Epona right up to the edge of the gorge you could have avoided that attack easily!_ Normally he would have ignored it entirely, but for once it was actually echoing his own angry thoughts. The anger was for him and nothing else for the stupid mistake he had made. He was going to have fun explaining this injury to Kera, though the fact that he had figured out what he had done wrong on his own would mean that she wouldn't be as harsh about it. It would just prove that he still had a lot to learn. _More then you realize, kid,_ the thought echoed through his head before he banished the voice to the back of his mind where it belonged and thankfully where it was quiet for the most part.

It was around then that Link noticed the clouds had began to change colors signifying that the sun was setting. With a sigh Link sheathed his sword and turned Epona around heading back towards the village. He would have to get the last of the creatures tomorrow if it was still around. For now he would most likely only have just enough time to take care of Epona before the rains became heavy. Nothing would happen if he got drenched f it did start raining heavily as long as he dried off quickly, but it would still make him feel squeamish being in it. As Epona walked back to the village Link glanced at his left shoulder pulling the cloak away from it. The tunic around the rather large scratch marks were already starting to turn red and he could feel some of the blood running down his back which made him shiver at how strange it felt. He just hoped that the claws hadn't been poisonous.

By the time they had reached the stables night had fallen and the first drops of rain had begun to fall. Link climbed out of the saddle and leaned his bow against the stable wall so he could remove the horse tack from Epona. After he had finished he looked her over just to be certain that the foggy creature hadn't somehow managed to harm her. When he found no injury he grabbed her curry combs and brushed her down. Then he filled both the food and water troughs before patting her gently on the nose. He smiled at her as he pulled the hood of his cloak up then walked toward the stable door grabbing his bow on the way. From within the doorway Link adjusted his cloak until the scratches on his left shoulder weren't exposed to the black rain. He had yet to have an injury expose to it that he could remember and after what had happened two years ago Link wasn't going to take any chances. He never wanted to find out what would happen if he could help it. He glanced up at the sky before taking a calming breath and ran home as fast as he could.

When he opened the door Link could spot both Lith and Kera within the kitchen and he couldn't help but smile softly. When he had been younger he had thought Lith was only spending dinner here because he couldn't cook. However, as he had gotten older he began to notice things his younger self never did. From what he could tell the two of them had some type of relationship. Link had never really asked them just what type it was because he saw no reason to. The two of them where happy and that's all that really mattered to him. He turned around to close the door behind him as well as lean his bow against the wall so he could undo the strap across his shoulder in order to remove his sword and shield which joined the bow. Then Link undid the claps on his cloak and carefully hung it up on a free peg near the door. He was going to have to remember to repair the holes the creature's claws had left on it.

With a sigh Link leaned back against the door so he could pull both his boots off. Then he picked the bow up and removed the bow string before he picked up the strap that the sheath was attached to so he could carry both sword and shield with him as well as the bow into the side room that was used as storage. There he leaned the bow against the wall long enough to open a wooden box so he could place it inside. He set his shield and sword down in order to remove the quiver from his belt to put it up as well. Then he picked the sheath up again by its strap and slung it over his unhurt shoulder as he walked further into the room to retrieve a leather satchel that held medical supplies within it.

With that in hand he walked towards the kitchen pausing at the entranceway to lean the shield and sword against the wall before proceeding further in. Both Kera and Lith turned their attention to him as he walked in. "Lith can you help me, please?" Link asked holding the satchel up as a means of explanation.

Lith nodded as he stood up and walked towards Link. "Of course," Lith told him and Link set the satchel down on the table so he could unfasten his belt then pulled his tunic off before sitting on the edge of a chair so Lith could get easy access to his shoulder since Link had managed to catch up with Lith in height. When Lith saw the claw marks that began on Link's shoulder and ended around his shoulder blade Lith blinked. "I thought they reported them to be bird like creatures. Those aren't claw marks from a bird," Lith commented as he stepped closer to inspect the wounds. They were pretty big in size which meant whatever it had been must have had a wicked set of claws. Thankfully they had only managed to get Link with one set.

"The only thing that was bird like about them was the wings. The wagon drivers must have only seen them from a distance or they moved to fast for them to been seen clearly. I should have asked Lea what he saw before heading out," Link stated glancing at Lith over his shoulder. Link doubted they had been moving very fast or he wouldn't have been able to kill the two he had.

"It wouldn't have done any good. Lea's father changed his mind at the last second and forced the boy to stay home and help him. Poor kid was bogged down with so much work that he couldn't come earlier today when I told him what was happening. Any way they should have told me they weren't certain if they saw it clearly or not. Their lucky it was something you could deal with," Lith told him as he opened the satchel. "And you're lucky they didn't get you very deep these won't require stitches," Lith informed him. It didn't surprise Link very much to hear Lea hadn't been allowed to go, but his father must have been pushing all the work on Lea for Link not to have seen him the entire time he was supposed to be with the caravan.

"How did it happen?" Kera asked as she glanced over at him for a moment then turned back to her cooking.

Link sighed since he had already known she would ask him. "It happened due to a stupid mistake on my part. I had Epona right up next to the edge of the gorge so she couldn't move forward. The thing came up from behind me and I couldn't dodge it," he told her.

Kera smiled slightly for she knew full well with what he had been taught Link could have dodged it easily enough, but she also knew why he didn't and knew that it would do her no good to tell him he should have. She wouldn't tell him either since the boy was to kind hearted to let his horse be injured. There was of course another way he could have prevented the injury. "Did you learn you lesson then?" she asked as she glanced at him again.

"Yes always make sure you have room to dodge an attack from any direction," he stated wincing slightly when Lith began to apply ointment to the scratches.

"Good then the experience hasn't been wasted. Also just so you know you could have shifted slightly too where the blow would have hit your shield instead of you," Kera told him.

Link blinked as he thought over what she had just told him. "To be honest I really didn't think of that… There is one thing that I should mention before you put the bandage on Lith. These particular creatures had what appeared to be scorpion like tails. I don't know if it could mean that their claws were poisonous," he told him.

"But it's better to be safe than sorry. I'll also apply a general antidote to them as well," Lith said as he set the one ointment down so he could grab the general antidote. "So did you manage to get them all?" he asked as he applied it.

"I got two, but he said there were supposed to be three of them in all. I'll go see if I can find the third one tomorrow, though most likely it will have moved on by then," he stated knowing full well the creature wasn't going to stay were two others like it had been killed, but he also knew it was a good idea to make sure it had indeed moved on. There was also something about them that had been confusing him since he had first heard about them. "There's something that I don't understand. Lith, you've told me a good strategy in a long battle is to starve out the enemy troop until they have to surrender as means to explain why Zeth is doing what he is. If that's the case why doesn't he just stop the wagons from getting in completely instead of just attacking them once in awhile like he is doing now?" Link asked.

"Raise your arms so I can put the bandage on," Lith said before answering and Link did as he was told, "Most likely he's hoping because the wagon drivers aren't soldiers, but are just villagers volunteering to be the wagon drivers that he can scare them enough until no one is willing to volunteer anymore. Doing it this way would require less man power as opposed to blocking the bridge thus less magic Zeth has to use. Of course they aren't likely to give up Kakariko Villagers have a tendency to be stubborn. At least the ones that are still here…"

_Or just plain lazy in the case of your friend Lea's father,_ the voice piped up as Link slowly nodded his head trying to ignore it. Lith finished putting the bandage on so Link stood up to take the satchel back to the storage room then he returned to the kitchen to retrieve his tunic and belt. With them in one hand he climbed up the ladder in the main room to the loft and tossed the tunic on top of the dresser figuring if nothing else he could use it to patch some of his other clothes. Link then opened one of the drawers and pulled out a light green shirt and pulled it on then headed back down the ladder to go eat supper.

After supper Link had retreated to his room with his cloak digging out a sewing kit and lighting the lantern up in his room. He sat on the edge of the bed then proceeded to repair his cloak. While he wasn't as good as sewing as Kera once she had been certain his stitches wouldn't come undone she had refused to repair anything of his anymore stating that it was part of a warriors job to take care of his equipment. This reminded him that before he went to bed he needed to fetch his sword and shield since he was supposed to keep them as close to him as he possibly could.

As Link worked on sewing the cloak he thought of the shadow creatures he had fought today because they were a lot different than the ones he normally encountered. It seemed to him the more Kera, Lith and him destroyed the stranger they got almost as if Zeth was testing them. Of course Link knew Zeth wasn't testing them specifically, but he defiantly seemed to be testing to see which ones worked best compared to others. _Great does that mean he's just using me to make stronger shadow creatures?_ Link thought getting distracted just enough to prick his finger with the sewing needle. As he checked to see if his finger was bleeding the voice decided to say something yet again tonight, _It makes it seem pointless doesn't it? Killing them just so he can make them stronger._ Link eyes narrowed as he continued to sew since his finger wasn't bleeding. "It's not pointless. If we left them alone who knows what would happen…" Link mumbled so Kera and Lith wouldn't hear him.

It took him longer then he liked to finish repairing the cloak, but when he had finished he climbed down out of the loft fetching his sword and shield before putting the cloak up. He was about to head back up the ladder when he heard what he believed to be something clawing at the front door. Link walked forward opening the door and glanced around. He didn't see anything but the black rain falling and after he looked for a few minutes he closed the door with a shrug. Link pulled the strap of the sheath over one arm then climbed up the ladder and set both sword and shield near his bed.

With a sigh he walked over to his dresser and he pulled opened the bottom drawer. The youth dug around in it awhile before pulling out his leather bound journal and a few pieces of charcoal. Then, after closing the drawer, he flopped down onto his bed as he untied the small pieces of leather that kept it shut and opened it to a blank page. Charcoal in hand he begun to write about what had happened today and finished t off with a crude drawing of the shadow creatures he had fought. He was about to close it, but he thought of something else and wrote below the drawing 'ShriShri'. Since it had no name that he knew of he made one up naming it after the shrill noise it had made just before it had attacked him. Link then tied the journal closed again and put everything back from where he had gotten it.

The journal keeping that Kera insisted on never made much sense to him since there was a shortage on paper. He didn't even want to know how much she had paid for them. He had two others that were already full since he only really wrote in them when interesting things had happened to him. Link sat down on the bed as he removed his leather gauntlets to stare at the bandage. Another thing that he had to do that he didn't understand. Slowly he unwound the bandage and once it was off he rolled it up setting it down on the table near his bed next to his gauntlets. The Triforce shape birthmark on the back of his hand was defiantly strange but why did he have to hide it? By now it had become a habit to wrap the bandage back around his hand once he had awoken, but he still couldn't help wondering why.

In fact, Kera seemed to make him do a lot of things that didn't really make much sense to him. Some of the things she had taught him had also seemed strange to him. Such as the legends about the Hero of Time some of which were common knowledge while others where a guarded secret only the Sheikah and the Hylian Royal Family were supposed to know. She had even made sure that he had memorized them which, in his opinion, was odd.

Then there were the throwing needles that even Kera had stated after he had learned them that he most likely would never use them. He remembered how upset he had gotten once she had told him that because he had to do a lot of studying along with learning how to use them. He had also once thought that the different battle strategies that she and Lith had drilled into his head was the strangest of them all, but after what she had told him today the reason behind learning them was a bit clearer.

When he had some time to himself to think like now and sort through everything he had been taught by the two of them it was almost as if they didn't really know what they should teach him. It was as if they didn't know just what would be happening in his future so they taught him a large range of subjects. So far he had learned how to handle his sword and shield, a short or long bow, double handed sword work that Lith favored, the sword and dagger fighting techniques that Kera favored, the throwing needles, the sling shot, different herbs and what they did, battles on horseback with a sword or bow, survival skills, sewing, how to attend to his equipment, cooking, and a lot more. The list almost seemed endless when he actually thought about it.

Part of the reason it confused him so much was because he had watched other parents within the village teach their children and unlike the two who taught him they usually stuck to one thing such as leather working. He of course understood why some of the things were taught to him, but others seemed useless to him. Out of all of them the military tactics had been his least favorite since he preferred learning skills more than anything else.

Link glanced out the window and watched the rain that was illuminated by the lantern fall. Kera had once told him when he was younger and he had gotten frustrated by one of his lessons that there would be a day that everything they had taught him would make sense. That he would understand why they had done what they did. When she had told him that she had seemed somehow sad which made his younger self wonder if it was really worth everything falling into place if the very idea made Kera sad. Even now the lessons still continued though now they were mainly focused on getting better in the skills he had acquired which was fine by him. At this point he'd be very happy if he never saw another book on military tactic's for the rest of this life!

As he began to feel tired Link stood up to pull the covers on the bed back and blew the lantern out. Then he removed the leather thong that kept his hair back letting it fall around his shoulders as he set it down. Next he pulled the shirt off he had put on earlier and climbed into bed pulling the covers on top of himself as he closed his eyes.

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><p>AN – Well hope you enjoyed the chapter :3. Adding the character Lea to the story is the main cause for the chapter being split in two like it was. It was also fun going back and changing things to include him where he wasn't before *sarcastic* especially once I realized that I hadn't really added him in this chapter where he should have been when going over this for mistakes before posting it up x_X. It added a whole 600 words to what I had written already XD (Lea originally was supposed to be the one commenting on Link being in trouble but I decided against it and worked him in a different way).

As always any comments, reviews, grammar and/or spelling corrections are much luv'ed :3


	3. The Curse of Being a Sage

Disclaimer – Legend of Zelda is copyrighted to Nintendo.

A/N - This chapter is short due to being split off the previous chapter. I didn't like the idea of posting a 14k word chapter so it got split. Thanks to the neat updates provided by FF . net I no longer have to post summaries and story rating inside of a chapter. Thank you FF . net :3.

SaraHof - Thank you for giving me the very first review on this story :3. I am glad you are enjoying it and thank you for the information on Epona since I am not that well informed when it comes to horses

E - Wow that is really high praise ^-^. I will write this as fast as I am able so I hope you enjoy it.

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><p>The Curse of Being a Sage<p>

_Link glanced out the window and watched the rain that was illuminated by the lantern fall. Kera had once told him when he was younger and he had gotten frustrated by one of his lessons that there would be a day that everything they had taught him would make sense. That he would understand why they had done what they did. When she had told him that she had seemed somehow sad which made his younger self wonder if it was really worth everything falling into place if the very idea made Kera sad. Even now the lessons still continued though now they were mainly focused on getting better in the skills he had acquired which was fine by him. At this point he'd be very happy if he never saw another book on military tactic's for the rest of this life!_

_As he began to feel tired Link stood up to pull the covers on the bed back and blew the lantern out. Then he removed the leather thong that kept his hair back letting it fall around his shoulders as he set it down. Next he pulled the shirt off he had put on earlier and climbed into bed pulling the covers on top of himself as he closed his eyes._

Link awoke the next day just before the sun began to rise. With a yawn he stretched, wincing slightly because of his shoulder, before he threw the covers off so he could get up. Once up he grabbed the light green tunic he had worn yesterday and pulled it on Link then picked the white bandage up and carefully wrapped it around his hand. Then he quickly ran a comb through his hair before he pulled it back into a ponytail. With his hair taken care of he pulled his gauntlets on and picked his sword up strapping it to his back then attached the shield to the sheath. As he walked over to the ladder he covered another yawn with his hand.

Once he was down the ladder he walked into the kitchen to grab a piece of bread and cheese to eat while he waited for the sun to come up so the rain would stop. The fact that Kera wasn't in here before him meant that she had already gotten up and had most likely left to do something somewhere within the village or elsewhere. He never really knew where she went when she got up before him since she never told him when he would see her later in the day and he had learned asking her where she went never resulted in an answer. She did it more often now that he was older since one time when he was younger he had awoken believing he was alone when he didn't see her and panicked until Lith had come out of the storage room. It didn't really upset him anymore to awaken and find himself the only person in the house, but it was strange that Lith wasn't here. Something must have happened while he slept that required the both of them.

_I wonder if it has anything to do with the scratching I heard last night_, he thought as he slowly ate on the bread. If that was the reason then he would most likely find some signs of what had happened once he went outside. For now he just focused on finishing eating.

When he was done he grabbed another piece of bread and a couple of pieces of dried meat and wrapped them up in cloth. As he finished wrapping them up he wandered over to the storage room to retrieve his bow and quiver since he still had to check up on the last Shrishri. After he had attached his quiver to his belt and had pulled the bow over his head, with the string in front and the bow itself resting against his back next to his sword behind the shield, so he wouldn't have to carry it he walked over to the door where he pulled his boots on stomping a few times to make sure they were on correctly. Before he left he grabbed his cloak. He didn't really think he would be gone long enough to need it, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Like he had thought, almost as soon as he had walked out of the door once the rain had stopped he noticed something was wrong. For one thing there where dog-like foot prints in the mud leading up to the front door. He made sure to avoid stepping on them in case Kera and Lith hadn't finished looking at them. There were also no children playing in the town center which told him their parents where keeping them close. _Something really did happen last night,_ he thought to himself as he headed towards the stables to fetch Epona. He stopped when he spotted a young man that was only a few years older than him to talk to him. "Lea did something happen last night?" Link asked as the young man looked up from the arrows he was making. He could tell his friend was upset at something, but Lea never was one to talk about just what was troubling him unless he wanted to so Link knew there was no point in asking him.

"I don't know all the details myself but those footprints in front of your house seem to belong to some type of shadow creature. Lith and Kera went out looking for it and told everyone to be careful in case it comes back," Lea answered then he took notice of Link's quiver and bow. "You heading out too?"

Link nodded as he glanced around the village before looking back at him. "Yes, I managed to get two of the shadow creatures that attacked the caravan, but I missed one so I'm going out to see if it stuck around," he answered.

It was Lea's turn to nod and Link noticed his expression turned a bit darker. It wasn't hard to figure out he was upset about his father changing his mind about Lea going with the caravan. "I heard about that. You're lucky Link since you always get to do the more interesting things," he said smiling as he was teasing Link.

"Oh yes, very lucky. I get to sit out in the open in Hyrule Field for hours most of the time doing nothing while I wait for something to attack me," Link said sarcastically shaking his head slightly glad that his friend seemed to have cheered up a little.

Lea laughed. "It's better than being stuck making arrows all day," Lea pointed out as he twirled one of said arrows around between his middle and index finger.

"Why aren't you working at the forge?" Link asked causing the red head to shrug and a look of annoyance appeared on Lea's face.

"No idea. For some reason my Da doesn't want to work it today which means when he does decide to continue working I get to have to the fun of building the fires back up," Lea sighed then he handed some of the arrows he had already finished over to Link. "Here, Kera said you needed some," Lea explained.

Link took them adding them to his quiver. "Thanks Lea," Link told him and Lea nodded before turning his attention back to the arrows he was supposed to be making. As for Link, he continued on his way to the stables.

When he reached the stables he walked over to Epona's stall stuffing the cloak into one of his saddle bags as well as the cloth wrapped food. With that done he proceeded to saddle Epona. Then he grabbed two water skins that were hanging on the wall. One was for himself while the larger one was for Epona in case she needed it. Both of them were already full so he attached them to the horn of the saddle and he took Epona's reins in hand leading her outside. When they had reached the edge of the village Link climbed up into the saddle and tapped Epona with his heals in order to get her to start walking.

Link waited until they were about half way from the bridge before turning his attention skyward while pulling his bow off him and letting it rest in his lap. He wasn't surprised that the only things in the sky he spotted where crows a couple of which seemed to be following him for the moment, but he allowed Epona to continue to walk just in case the Shrishri was further out. She had chosen to walk down the middle of the road in order to avoid the wagon ruts and Link was content to allow her to pick her own pace as well. They would head out as far as the bridge that spanned Kakariko Gorge and if he didn't spot them by then he believed it would be safe to assume that it had moved on. Of course there was always the possibility it had simply moved further out then he himself was willing to go without warning Kera or Lith. Just to be safe he was going to stay at the bridge for awhile before he went back.

He continued to keep his eyes to the sky even as he heard Epona's hoofs hit the wood of the bridge. Epona stopped on her own accord when she reached the end of the bridge since she had never gone farther than that unless accompanied by another horse. She was smart enough to realize that since she was the only horse here Link wouldn't want to head further out. Link glanced down for a moment only to make sure Epona hadn't wandered close to one of the sides of the bridge. It was something that always made him nervous when she did, but thankfully she had continued to stick to the middle. With a smile he pats her on the neck before he turned his attention skyward again.

He stayed that way for quite awhile only moving to keep his muscles from cramping. Then, without knowing why, Link glanced back over his shoulder towards Kakariko Village. _Something isn't right, kid,_ the voice warned which made Link worry even more since he was also feeling something was off about it. It had never tried to warn him about anything before since whatever the voice was seemed to enjoy pointing out his mistakes and sometimes even found it funny if he managed to get himself hurt because of said mistakes. Link had Epona turn around just as smoke began to rise from the village. Only the forge could produce that much smoke and after what Lea had said he knew it wasn't from the forge. Eyes widening Link booted Epona shouting, "Hiyah!" Epona knew it meant Link wanted her to run as fast as she could and so she took off in a gallop heading for the village while Link pulled his bow over his head to settle on his back once again so his hands where free for whatever they were going to encounter once they got back to the village.

When they reached the outer part of the village Link noticed a couple of the abandoned houses were on fire and the crows were in a panic. Before he could see much else Lith ran up to him dragging him off Epona and clamped a hand over Link's mouth dragging him into the practice barn. Epona being the good horse she was followed after them. "Listen to me Link I need you to be quite and stay out of sight…" Lith whispered into his ear. He waited for Link to nod his head in understanding before he would let the boy go. Lith then looked at him. "Zeth and some of his soldier appeared in the town suddenly, and before you ask no I don't know how they got in without passing you, but Hylians with blond hair and eyes as blue as yours are a rare thing, Link. He'll know he didn't kill you and Kera if he spots you," Lith informed him.

Link slowly nodded his head then a look of concern came over his face and he grabbed Lith's sleeve pointing to the house him and Kera shared. Lith shook his head. "I haven't seen her since we separated while trying to hunt down the shadow creature that came into the village during the night. No one else has seen her either," Lith told him and Link nodded not liking that her location was unknown. Lith looked at Link. "I need to head back before they spot that I'm gone. Remember Link you have to stay out of sight!" Lith warned then he hurried off. Link watched him go before leaning back against the wall of the barn.

_Now what?_ He thought as he glanced towards the barn door. If for whatever reason Zeth chose to leave the normal way instead of however he came there was a chance he'd be spotted since most of the barns walls had been removed to repair other things in the village. He glanced through one of the gaps in the wall towards the village. When he couldn't see anything he took hold of Epona's reins once again heading out to Hyrule Field. _The best thing for now would be to leave the village and try to sneak back in during night time since someone with their hood up wouldn't bring much attention to themselves then… I hope he leaves sooner than that though… _he thought wishing there was something he could do rather than retreat, but knew if he showed up he would only be causing the villagers more problems then what they had right now._ I wonder what has him upset now…_ he thought and the voice added, D_on't know kid but you better hope it has nothing to do with you!_

With a sigh he climbed up into the saddle and had Epona turn off the road. He let the mare walk a ways until they were far enough away to where they wouldn't be spotted from the road, but he should be able to see a group as large as Zeth would most likely have with him leave the village. He climbed out of the saddle and gently ran his hand along Epona's neck before he began to unsaddle her. He had no clue how long they were going to be out here so there was no point in making her keep it on. The reins he left because if they had to bolt for some reason he could ride her bare back, but without the reins it would be harder on him. He pulled his bow off and sat down on Epona's blanket. He then pulled his shield off the sheath laying it down beside him on the right side then the unstrapped his sword laying it on his left side.

Link sat there for several hours petting Epona once in awhile when she would gently nudge him for the attention. When the sun was at its highest point he pulled the food out of the saddle bags and ate some. He also gave Epona some water and wished he had been smart enough to grab a couple of the oatcakes for her so she would have _something_ to eat. After he was done he sat back down and scooted down to where he could lay his head back on the saddle as he waited for night to fall.

Link was not sure exactly when he had fallen asleep, but he was awakened by Epona tugging on his tunic with her mouth. The first thing he noticed was that he was soaking wet the next that it was raining pretty hard. Most likely Epona had tried to awaken him a few times when the rain had first started and had failed. Why he hadn't awoken himself once the rain had started falling on him he didn't know and would worry about that later. For now he was more concerned by the fact that he was getting wet - well it didn't really matter now that he was soaked, but the more of the dark rain he kept off him the happier he would be. He was also concerned about what was happening in the village. Quickly he dug out his cloak and put it on pulling the hood up. He strapped his sword back on attached his shield and pulled his bow over his head figuring if it was going to be ruined then it already was. He saddled Epona then he took hold of her reins and led her back towards Kakariko Village.

When he reached the village he was glad to see the fires had been put out, but why was it raining? Whenever Zeth was in an area the rain never fell there so either Zeth had left or something was very wrong. Link spotted a group of villagers standing near the well. He led Epona into the barn and set her reins down on the ground. As long as something didn't happen she wouldn't move from that spot until someone picked her reins back up. He pats Epona on the nose then walked towards the villagers keeping his hood up to hide his face in case Zeth was still here and was somehow within the group. As he approached the villagers he was glad to see one of them was Lith and he quickly walked over to him keeping a hand on the hood to keep it from slipping off. When he reached him he noticed several of the others seemed sad somehow. "Lith what is going on?" he asked the older man now worried.

Lith turned his attention to Link. "Kera returned and before anyone could warn her about what was going on she walked right into Zeth and his knights," Lith told him his sadness echoing in his voice.

Link eyes widened. "Lith where are they?" he asked and looked around in hopes of finding her though he knew it would most likely be in vain.

"Zeth took her into the graveyard," Lith told him. Before Link could take off at a run Lith grabbed him by the arm and turned him around to look at him. "Link there is nothing you can do for her. Her time was already up as it was. It was just bad timing that Zeth showed up when he did," Lith told him his expression blank which told Link he was hiding just how sad or hurt he really was. It was something Link would probably never be able to do and he never wanted to because right now seeing Lith's face like that made it seemed like Lith didn't care for Kera. Despite the fact Link knew it was just the opposite he couldn't help but feel a bit angry about it.

Link's eyes narrowed once he thought over what Lith had said. "What do you mean her time was already up?" Link asked his voice flat and he was now close to glaring at Lith. He had never seen Kera sick nor was she injured in any way that he knew of. How could her time already be up? Lith didn't answer him at first so Link repeated the question again this time yelling it, "What do you mean her time was up?"

"Link, Kera is the Sage of Shadows. She has used up all her power to keep Kakariko village from dying out like all the other villages had. Tonight even without Zeth's help would have been the last night she would have lived. She will die tonight and there isn't anything either of us can do about it. If you go to her now all your going to do is get yourself killed!" Lith shouted tightening his grip on Link knowing the boy would try anyway. He wasn't going to lose them both in the same night if he could help it. Hadn't he, himself, tried these past few years? Just as he had predicted Link began trying to break free of Lith's grip. It wasn't easy to keep a hold of him either with all the training Link had gone through.

"Let go of me Lith," Link said his voice low and threatening a tone Link had never used before and it shocked Lith a bit more so because of the dark look the boy's eyes had. It was almost like he was a completely different person. When Lith didn't let go Link dropped all of his weight to the ground trying to break Lith's grip on him. When that didn't work Link swept Lith's legs out from underneath him finally getting free of Lith's grip. Link stood up and ran for the graveyard. He felt someone grab onto his cloak causing him to fall on his rump. Before whoever it was could grab hold of him he unclipped the cloaks clasp and stood up again running as fast as he could. Even with the sword strapped over it the cloak pulled free of him.

"_Link!"_ he heard Lith shout behind him, but the youth ignored him. He almost ran into Epona when the horse suddenly got in front of him and he quickly pulled himself in the saddle as Epona took off running towards the graveyard.

When Epona reached the entrance of the graveyard she stopped and Link climbed out of her saddle. He looked around not spotting anyone as he slowly walked into the graveyard his left hand moving towards his sword hilt. He glanced up at the ledge where the Shadow Temple was and as far away as he was he could spot some of Zeth's Knights. He remembered asking Kera before about how to get to the Temple when she had told him what it was. She had mentioned a song, but had told him that she didn't know it which he now knew to be a lie. He'd just have to find another way to get up there without the songs help, but how? The sound of laughter interrupted Link's thoughts and he dodged to the side as a Poe came at him swinging it's lantern around. "I don't have time for you!" Link shouted as he quickly ran towards the ledge ignoring the Poe completely.

Link jumped onto the top of the Hylian Royal Family gravestone only to almost fall off of it when his foot slipped on the wet stone. Once he regained his balance, he jumped onto the tree that was just in front of the ledge hoping the branch he was aiming for wouldn't break since the tree was dead as far as he knew. Thankfully, it didn't but he ended up landing on his stomach causing the wind to be knocked out of him. Link held onto the branch tightly until he was able to catch his breath then pulled himself up onto it. Once on it he carefully turned to where he was facing the ledge. "Who needs a song to get to the Shadow Temple…" he mumbled to himself as he looked at the ledge. Suddenly a wave of dizziness hit him and he almost fell off the branch. _Kid get out of the rain now,_ the voice in his head practically screamed causing Link to wince slightly.

He didn't understand why the voice wanted him to get out of the rain so he ignored it for now and jumped onto the ledge. He almost didn't make the jump and had to pull himself up gripping a post of the fence tightly to do so his cloths getting covered in mud as he did. It was then he noticed why the voice wanted him to get out of the rain. The mud was literally black, completely tainted because of the rain. That explained his sudden dizziness because the rain had a higher concentration of the taint within it than ever before. Zeth must have been in one hell of a mood for it to be like _this!_ For now since there was nothing he could do or more like he wasn't willing to do something about the taint and the rain he turned his attention to the two Knights that guarded the entrance to the temple. Neither one of them appeared to be moving as far as he could tell, but that didn't mean they weren't and wouldn't if he approached. Link cautiously moved forward his left hand on his sword hilt yet they still did not move not even when he was standing between the two of them. _They are not active kid you don't have to worry about them;_ the voice informed him which made him wonder how did it know that? Shaking his head deciding that was yet another thing to worry about later. He removed his hand from the sword hilt and quickly ran inside.

Link ran straight for the door that was inside to try and open it, but when he could not he started to think. Kera had once told him that all the Sage temples had puzzles in them that prevented people access to certain points of the temple for reasons she hadn't explained to him. He glanced around the room spotting a pedestal in the center of it with torches around it. It was pretty obvious as to what he had to do here. Slowly he walked over to the pedestal and stood on top of it. Kera had taught him Din's Fire several years ago and Link quickly cast the spell lighting the torches.

When the door opened Link ran through it afraid it would shut on him only to come to a sliding halt when a hole in the floor appeared in front of him. The hole was a lot longer than he could jump and as far as he could tell there was no way around it. "_Now_ what?" Link shouted as he slumped to his knees tears welling up into his eyes. There just had to be some way he could go further into the temple!

Link turned when he sensed someone behind him and nearly jumped when he spotted one of the Knights. Before he could react it seemed to vanish only to reappear right in front of Link. The knight placed its armored hand on Link's shoulder and for a few seconds all Link could see was complete darkness then his vision returned to normal. It took him a moment before he realized he was on the other side of the hole in the floor, but once he did he was quickly on his feet running again forgetting about the knight completely. He reached another door this one opening up automatically as he approached it.

As he slowly walked into the room Linked looked around the temple now giving him a feeling of dread. He stopped mid-step when he spotted Zeth, who was standing in the center of the room watching him. "I figured as much. If the Sage was still alive you no doubt were too," Zeth said as he took a few steps towards him.

"Where is Kera?" Link asked as he stood his ground. This entire place made him feel on edge. The Temple of Shadows was defiantly not what he had expected. The strange music that seemed to come from nowhere didn't really help much either.

"She went further into the Temple were neither of us can follow her… Most likely by now she is dead," he responded and the tone in his voice said that he didn't care either.

"I don't believe you!" Link shouted and walked forward. Zeth stepped aside to let Link pass only to have the youth stop when he spotted the large hole that separated the ledge that was in front of the next door from the place he stood. On top of all that the door was blocked by iron bars so even if he did manage to somehow get across the gap he wouldn't have been able to get through the door. When the bars blurred Link quickly shut his eyes shaking his head as he tried to clear his vision again. _Kid what have you gotten yourself into?_ The voice questioned and Link nearly jumped when Zeth chuckled standing right beside him now. Link turned to look at him taking a few steps back.

"It seems boy you are pushing your limits. For someone as young as you to cast Din's Fire to light all those torches must have cost you a great deal of your magic," Zeth stated starring at Link.

_Don't let him find the truth out, kid,_ the voice cautioned as Link took a few more steps back this time away from the gaping hole to give himself some room in case Zeth decided to fight. He wasn't going to repeat his mistake at the gorge here. Zeth just chuckled again. "Why did you come to Kakariko Village?" Link asked him his hand going to his sword hilt.

"Because even a fool could see the Sage of Shadows wasn't dead with how long your village lasted after I supposedly killed the both of you. Your survived once boy I wonder if you would be able to survive again," Zeth answered as he drew his sword.

Link drew his as well as his shield bending his knees slightly so he could maneuver easily. "I am not going to die!" Link shouted as he jumped at Zeth slashing at him vertically. Zeth took a few steps back dodging Link's attack then quickly moved forward with a horizontal slash to take advantage of the opening Link had left. Link quickly brought his shield up to block the attack and Zeth retreated a few steps.

"At least it'll be fun this time!" Zeth shouted as Link stood up swinging his sword at him. Zeth blocked the attack with his own sword pushing back on Link's sword to unbalance him. Then Zeth dropped slightly to sweep Link's legs out from underneath him. Link fell onto his back and Zeth kicked his shield sending it flying. He then went to impale Link only to have Link role to the side dodging the attack. The youth drew his knife with his now free hand and stood up just as Zeth swung his sword at Link. Link attempted to block the attack with his dagger so he could counter with his sword but his vision blurred again causing Link to misjudge were the attack was coming from. Link felt the sword graze across his stomach and he quickly took a few steps back before Zeth could attack again.

Zeth took a few steps back as well tilting his head to the side as he studied Link. "It seems something else is wrong besides the lack of magic," Zeth mumbled. Link quickly moved forward swinging his sword at Zeth not wanting to give him enough time to figure it out because he agreed with the voice that Zeth finding out would not be a good thing. Zeth blocked the attack pushing against Link's sword smiling slightly. "Tell me boy what upsets you more the fact she went and died without letting you know or the fact that you couldn't save her?" Zeth asked and Link glared at him as he attempted to stab him with his knife however, Zeth removed one hand from his sword to catch Link by the wrist before he could stab him and Zeth grinned.

"Oh I know! It's how easily everyone else in the village just let me take her!" Zeth shouted as he pushed Link away from him as he let go of his wrist. Link hadn't thought Zeth could push with more force then he already had so he almost lost his balance having to take a couple of steps back in order to regain it. Zeth also took a few steps back though his was because he wanted to not because he had been forced to do so. "You do realize boy they have done the same to you as well? They knew you coming here would lead to your death but not a one of them has come to try and save you! They could have easily caught up to you as you climbed up here yet there was no one!" Zeth shouted as he began to laugh.

He already knew the cold fact that no one in the village besides Kera, Lith and maybe Lea cared enough to try and save him from Zeth. _But not even Lith followed after you. Yes, he tried to stop you, kid, from going into the graveyard, but he didn't follow after you,_ the voice pointed out and Link paused at the thought then he remembered he had tripped Lith up so most likely he hadn't been able to follow after Link quick enough to stop him especially since he had ridden Epona into the graveyard. _Yes you tripped him, but why don't you hear him now? If he had followed after you surely he would be in the other room calling for you?_ Link shut his eyes and shook his head as he tried to push the voice back to where it belonged. Most likely Lith had come and was smarter than Link to yell out when he knew an enemy was around. _You have a point,_ the voice conceded.

Zeth took advantage of him being distracted and quickly moved forward to stab Link in the heart. _Watch out, _the voice shouted the same time Link heard Zeth move. He opened his eyes in time to divert Zeth's attack to where he wasn't stabbed in the heart but the right side of his chest. Link cried out in pain dropping both his sword and dagger to grab hold of Zeth's sword right where it met his skin to prevent him from being able to push the sword further in. This caused the blade to dig into the palms of Link's hands once it had cut through the leather gauntlets. Zeth pushed him back until Link's back was up against the wall. "You really are naive boy…" Zeth whispered.

_Kid if you don't do something now you're going to die! _The voice shouted and Link pushed passed the pain removing one hand from the sword to place it on Zeth's hands. He concentrated as hard as he could and nearly passed out when he felt Zeth push the sword further in. Link ignored it the best as he could as he continued to concentrate and was rewarded with a cry of pain as Zeth let go of the sword hilt his hands having been burned by Link's Din's Fire spell. Now he just had to figure out what to do next. He knew pulling the sword out while he was here amongst enemies was defiantly not a good idea, but what really prevented Zeth from doing the same? Link wasn't even all that sure if he could safely move around with the sword in his chest.

"To hell with this…" Zeth began as he glared at Link, "I grow tired of you." His eyes narrowed as he began casting a spell. It was the same one he had tried to kill Link and Kera with before. Kera had told Link how both of them had managed to survive it the first time Zeth had used this move and Link tried to concentrate to cast Naryu's Love but the loss of blood mixed with the black rain was making his mind hazy and concentrating impossible. He began to push away from the wall when he coughed and it hurt like hell while he ignored the fact he had coughed up blood completely. Then he heard footsteps approaching them and he turned to see who was coming. His eyes widened when he spotted Lith running towards him. Lea was there as well, but when he spotted Link his face had gone pale and he had frozen where he stood. "_Lith, no!"_ he shouted as he took a step towards him. He didn't care if he managed to get himself killed but if he got Lith killed along with Kera already gone he would never forgive himself. From the corner of his eye he could see Zeth release his spell before Link blacked out…

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><p>AN - Dun dun dun!

I love Cliff hangers don't you? Is it just me or do I make better mentally deranged character then nice ones? Then again I am doing a pretty good job on Link if I do say so myself. Curse me for being able to make male characters better than females! *Is female*. Any ways hope you enjoyed it. I would love it if you reviewed even if it's just to correct something or ask a question I'll love ya much :3


	4. The Consequences of Ones Actions

Disclaimer – Legend of Zelda is copyrighted to Nintendo.

A/N - Another Chapter that was originally one with the chapter that comes after it but was cut because it was deemed too long :3. Also, I made a book cover for the fan-fiction just click on it to see it. There is a larger version on my DA account which is childofdreamz . Deviantart .com If you can't get there that way the title of it is the same as the story so it should be easy to search for it.

E-Mir the Luminoth 17 - Thank you for the review I am glad you're enjoying it. I replied to your question in PM which reminds me I need to tell you what I have decided xD. *goes to send another PM*

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><p>Consequences of Ones Actions<p>

"_To hell with this…" Zeth began as he glared at Link, "I grow tired of you." His eyes narrowed as he began casting a spell. It was the same one he had tried to kill Link and Kera with before. Kera had told Link how both of them had managed to survive it the first time Zeth had used this move and Link tried to concentrate to cast Naryu's Love but the loss of blood mixed with the black rain was making his mind hazy and concentrating impossible. He began to push away from the wall when he coughed and it hurt like hell while he ignored the fact he had coughed up blood completely. Then he heard footsteps approaching them and he turned to see who was coming. His eyes widened when he spotted Lith running towards him. Lea was there as well, but when he spotted Link his face had gone pale and he had frozen where he stood. "Lith, no!" he shouted as he took a step towards him. He didn't care if he managed to get himself killed but if he got Lith killed along with Kera already gone he would never forgive himself. From the corner of his eye he could see Zeth release his spell before Link blacked out…_

"Beloved Child, we wish these things did not have to happen to you. Oh, how we wish there was another path to set you upon. Let your courage remain strong and your heart pure for we have chosen you for great things."

When Link awoke the first then he noticed was the immense pain that was coming from his chest. The next was that while he was in his own house it wasn't his room he was in, but Kera's which was very strange. He laid there for awhile dazed and confused as he tried to remember exactly what had happened to explain the pain and why he was here instead of his own room. It did not help that he was having trouble taking in a lung full of air because every time he tried the pain would intensify. Mixed with the fact that while he ignored the pain from trying to sit up he found that he really did not have the energy to do so. He was almost panicking and about ready to call out for Kera when the voice spoke up for once it's voice calm and not condescending, _She's dead, kid, _it reminded him and his eyes widened as he remembered what Lith had told him about her and how he had chased after her only to find out it was already too late.

"No," he moaned as he covered his eyes with his hands ignoring the pain he felt when he moved his right arm.

_That's not all of it, kid,_ the voice told him and Link at the moment wasn't sure if he wanted to remember what all had happened, but with how much he hurt he realized it was important that he did. It took him a bit before he remembered that he had fought with Zeth and had lost which was why he was in so much pain. Then he also remembered that he had seen both Lea and Lith when he was blacking out. This resulted in him remembering that Zeth had also been casting that spell of his and Lith had been heading right for him so Link forced himself to sit up. He ended up biting down on his lower lip hard to keep from screaming from how much it hurt to do so.

He sat there for a moment waiting for the pain to lessen while he tried to keep his breathing even. While he waited Link glanced down at his chest not at all surprised to see the bandages that was heavily focused on the right side of his chest. There was also some going across his lower abdomen, but not to the extent of his chest. As he was about to move to the edge of the bed he spotted more wrapped around both his hands. With a shake of his head Link gritted his teeth as he moved towards the edge of the bed. Even with how careful he had been he was close to tears with how much it hurt.

Thankfully, when he stood up he had either gotten use to the pain quickly or the movement just caused him less of it. Slowly and carefully he took a couple of steps only to have to catch himself on a conveniently placed chair when his legs had attempted to give out on him. Of course catching himself like that caused him a ton of pain so he had to stay there for a bit until the room quite spinning as well as to catch his breath. The chair at least told him that someone had been here since it had most likely been brought in here so someone could watch over him. When he was certain he could at least walk a few more steps without passing out he pushed away from the chair and headed for the door.

It took a bit of work on his part to situate himself so he could open the door without falling. Carefully he took a few steps into the main room and was not surprised to find that no one was in it. If someone had been they would have spotted him instantly when he had opened the door. They would not have let him leave the room like he had done because he could cause his wounds to rip open with what he was doing. That only left a few rooms that someone could be in and since he highly doubted he could climb up into the loft in his present condition that only left the store room and the kitchen. Since the kitchen was closer to Kera's room then the store room was he decided to head to the kitchen praying that someone was in there.

He was lucky someone was in the kitchen but he was surprised by just who it was; Lea. The red-head had been sitting at the table working on something before he had fallen asleep. Lea being asleep explained how he had not heard Link with all the noise he had to have made when he almost crashed to the floor in the bedroom. Link leaned against the post for the doorway and attempted to call out to him. "Lea…?" he rasped his voice no more than a whisper and Lea did not stir. He waited a bit in order to catch his breath and tried again. "Lea!" he almost shouted causing the red-head to jolt awake. Link felt bad for waking him up once he saw the telltale signs that he hadn't been sleeping much. There was also a bandage on his cheek that seemed to be swollen somewhat but the bruise seemed to be old.

At first he seemed almost as confused as Link had been upon wakening but when he spotted Link standing in the entrance of the kitchen his face turned to panic. "Link!" You shouldn't have gotten up!" he shouted knocking the chair over in his haste to get to Link. Lea managed to reach him in time to prevent Link from falling to the floor. He may have been shorter then Link by a few inches, but his work in the forge had made him stronger then Link so he could have easily picked Link up if he wanted to. Instead Lea just slung Link's arm over his shoulders afraid to hurt him if he did pick him up and lead him over to a chair in the main room and helped him sit down in it. Once he was certain Link was not going to topple over he began to check Link's bandages for any sign of blood.

Link stopped him, however, by grabbing hold of his shoulder so he would look at him. "Where is Lith?" Link questioned.

"He went to the potion maker's house," Lea answered as he gently pried Link's hands off his shoulders.

"Then he is alright?" Link asked and Lea looked confused for a moment before understanding dawned on his face.

"You don't remember," Lea stated causing Link to look confused this time.

"Remember what?" he questioned.

Lea shook his head as he let go of Link's hands and stood up straight. "It will be better if Lith explained it to you," Lea told him as he quickly walked over to the door and pulled it open. Lea had been told by Lith that he was not to leave Link no matter what so instead of going to fetch Lith himself he resorted to leaning out and shouting as loud as he could, "_Lith! He woke up!"_

Link watched as Lea walked back over to him. "Come on its best that I get you back to bed. If Lith did not hear me someone will tell him," Lea said as he began to help Link stand back up. Link had to lean heavily on Lea, but the older youth did not seem to mind. They had almost made it back to the room when Lith came running into the house.

"Link?" he questioned when he looked at the two young men. He nearly leaned back against the wall in relieve at seeing the younger man awake, but it turned to worry once it dawned at him that Link had gotten up. "What are you doing out of bed?" he asked as he quickly walked over to the two in order to help Lea get Link back to bed.

"I-" he began then winced as he lay back down on the bed. "I didn't know… If you were alive or not…" Link told him.

"He doesn't remember what happened," Lea tried to clarify as he looked at Lith.

Lith looked at Lea then back at Link. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Spotting the two of you before Zeth unleashed that spell of his." Lith nodded his head as Lea took a few steps back so the older man could inspect Link's wounds. Before he would answer Link he needed to be sure that he had not managed to open any of his wounds back up. He did not spot any blood on the bandages, but he was still worried about him. Link was still very pale and until he had heard Lea shouting that he had woken up Lith had not been all that certain if he would survive his wounds.

Of course this was not the first time Link had woken up, but the second. The first time happened within a day of being injured and he had been suffering from a high fever. Lith had been in the kitchen trying to eat something while Lea sat by Link's bed side. He had heard the chair crashing to the ground first then Link's scream that had him within the room as fast as humanly possible afraid that the two boys were under attack by something. Instead he found Lea trying his hardest to hold a thrashing Link down to where he would not hurt himself further since the scream had resulted in Link coughing up blood before Lith had gotten there. The problem was Lea was hesitant to do it with a lot of force because he was afraid _he_ would also hurt Link. The younger somehow managed to punch the older hard enough that Lea had to take a few steps back in order to absorb the blow fully.

At that point Lith had stepped in sending Lea to fetch the potion maker as he attempted to restrain Link. It was around then he realized Link had been shouting something and when he realized just what it was Lith's heart almost broke. In whatever delirium gripped Link he was fighting against something and was begging it to give his mother back. At first he thought Link was talking about his real mother and was revisiting nightmares he had while he had been a child, but then Link said something that Lith would never forget. "Please, give her back," he had moaned while nearly punching Lith in the eye, "She hasn't heard it yet! _Please!_" It was not very hard for Lith to realize Link was referring to the fact he had never called Kera mother before she had died. Lith was glad to say the least when the old woman had arrived to give something to Link to make him sleep. Lith hoped whatever Link had seen that night that he would not remember it now.

While Lith checked on his wounds Link took a good look at him. Like Lea he looked as if he had not slept in awhile and there were other signs that showed he had been neglecting his own health while Lith had been worrying about him. He also appeared to Link older then what he remembered him. At least from what Link could tell Lith had managed to avoid being injured somehow. He would have to wait for Lith to tell him what he could not remember before knowing how of course.

Lith sighed when he had finished and sat on the edge of the bed while Lea sat in the chair he had moved near the door. "Originally I planned to go after you myself, but Lea had been the one to grab hold of your cloak in an attempt to stop you. Since he hadn't been tripped up he was also the first to chase after you and I caught up with him in the graveyard attempting to get around a Poe that had appeared," Lith explained as he glanced at Lea who was currently looking at the floor his hand unconsciously rubbing across the lower part of his chest.

He had managed to get hit by the Poe's lantern square in the chest, but the Poe had underestimated Lea as he had caught the lantern when it had hit him. He had then thrown the Poe into one of the graveyard walls since it refuse to let go of the lantern Lea had really thrown. Granted the Poe had phased right through it, but there was no reappearance on its part. If he somehow managed to find the time Lith was very tempted to train him to be able to use some type of weapon so he could avoid such a situation in the future. He knew Lea at least knew how to use a slingshot because Link had let him borrow his when Link was busy training with Kera and Lith. Link had also mentioned that Lea knew how to use a bow, but Lith had never seen him use it so he could not know how efficient he was with it.

"After he dealt with it the two of us went into the Shadow Temple and arrived just in time to see you burn Zeth's hands and him begin to cast that spell of his," Lith told him.

"How did you… get past the hole near… the entrance?" Link asked having to breath more than normal thanks to his injuries.

"Kera showed me an entrance into the temple about a year before she found you out in the field that was disguised as a grave. I never did understand why she showed it to me since I never had any interest in going inside the temple," Lith answered. "Any way I ran towards you and noticed when I was about half way to you that you had noticed me. It shocked the hell out of me that you had managed to push away from the wall with that sword sticking out of you but you did. Then as Zeth was about to release his spell and I reached you it seemed you were going to pass out but you steadied yourself, hell you even managed to get in front of me before the spell hit. The next thing I know I have my back up against the wall with you standing in front of me. You had your left arm stretched out in front of you with your palm facing forward. After a few seconds I spotted the clear blue walls that mark the spell Naryu's Love," Lith told him.

"Then you didn't see it?" Lea asked and Lith turned to look at him.

"See what?"

"For a moment I could have sworn Link's eyes where greener then my own," Lea told him but then he shrugged as if he realized how impossible what he just said was. "It could have been my imagination or I was seeing things thanks to all the magic that was floating around. I mean there was the black of Zeth's magic, Link's green and then a large concentration of Kera's purple magic as well."

Link had heard Lith and Kera discussing once that Lea could actually physically see magic when it wasn't in spell form, but he had never heard him admit it himself. "Do you know why there was so much of Kera's magic there?" Lith asked him.

Lea thought a moment before answering shaking his head slightly, "It was just remnants. For that much to be there though she must have cast a large spell at some point that day."

"Maybe it was… some type of purification spell?" Link suggested. "The taint in the rain… that day was so much stronger… than any other day," Link told him as he thought back on the black mud he had gotten on himself and just how quickly it had affected him compared to normal.

"Most likely since nothing seems to have been tainted afterword's nor has anything begun to become tainted yet. She must have set it up as a precaution," Lith told him.

"What happened after that?" Link asked wanting to change the subject away from Kera for the moment.

"You collapsed and I manage to catch you before you fell to the ground. While I tried to stabilize the sword and stop the bleeding until I could safely get you back here Zeth kept testing the strength of your spell with his own magic," Lith told him.

"He wasted a lot of it in there," Lea added and Lith nodded in agreement.

"After awhile he was really upset at it because he was unable to break it on his own. He summoned the two knights that had come with him and all three of them attacked the spell at the same time. When it was clear he still couldn't get it to break he left," Lith explained glancing at Lea for a moment. The boy had been lucky that Zeth had not taken his anger out on him when he passed by him. "After awhile the spell vanished on its own and with Lea's help I was able to get you out of there," Lith finished as he thought about the one thing he did not tell him. When he had looked at Link's left hand after he had passed out he had seen the Triforce of Courage shining brightly on the back of it. He wasn't sure if Lea had seen it or not since the red headed youth had never mentioned if he had, but he knew from how hard he had tried to help Link that Lea would never betray him even if he had.

"How come the only times I can use Naryu's Love to its full potential are times I can't recall how I did it?" he asked resting his left arm over his eyes.

"Some things come easier when your mind is blank…" Lith told him as he checked the bandages one more time. He still wasn't seeing any blood on them which he took as a sign Link hadn't managed to reopen the wounds. It had taken all of his skills and several of the Potions Makers Red Potions to stop the bleeding. The Potion Maker had told Lith that she wished she had Blue Potion on hand for it would have been able to heal Link right up but with the way things were she had only seen a Blue Potion when she was a child and had never been able to make one of her own.

"Lith, how long did you know she was going to die?" Link asked as he looked up at the ceiling as tears welled up in his eyes. Lea decided that this would be a very good time to leave and he quietly exited the room.

Lith glanced at the door as Lea closed it then sighed. "Since before she picked you up out in Hyrule Field. I was just a kid when the Sage of Fire died, but when the Sage of Spirit died when I was around your age I realized that the Sages were no longer immortal and it was only a matter of time before Kera passed away as well," he told Link.

Link glanced at Lith and stared at him for a moment. He of course knew before the rains began to fall that the sages could live for a very long time, but Lith had just hinted at the fact Kera hand been the Sage of Shadows since Lith himself was a child. "Since when did you love her?" Link asked now curious.

Lith turned to look at Link and smiled sadly while he ruffled Link's hair slightly. Kera and Lith had never hidden the fact that they had loved each other, but until this moment he never knew if Link had actually figured it out.

"My father and I fled from Hyrule castle when I was seven and decided to come here to Kakariko Village. Due to my father being a trained Knight Kera had him help her with a lot of things and because he was a single father I was always tagging along with him… At first she tried treating me the same way she treated you when you were that age but I wouldn't let her. Any way I would have to say it wasn't long after I turned fourteen that I fell in love with her even though I knew she was probably older then my father… I just didn't care. It wasn't until I was twenty that I worked up the courage to tell her," he told Link. He remembered how shocked Kera had been when he told her. Then her shock had turned to anger because she thought he was pulling some type of cruel joke on her like he had done when he was younger. When he told her just how long he had loved her she believed him then, but was still a bit reluctant about it.

Link slowly nodded as he looked back up at the ceiling then closed his eyes tightly as tears started streaming down his cheeks. He bit his already abused bottom lip to keep from openly sobbing not because he would be embarrassed, but because he knew if he did it would hurt like hell if he did. He felt the bed shift as Lith stood up. "I'll go get you something to eat," Lith told him and Link heard footsteps as Lith walked over to the door. He paused once he had reached the door. "She left you a letter, Link. From what I understand it tells you where you should go from here because Kakariko Village will no longer be safe for you. Several of the villagers are already planning to leave as well," Lith explained.

"How long have I been out…? For them to make that decision already?" Link mumbled knowing a choice like that for the ones who were still here would not have been an easy one.

At first he wasn't sure Lith had heard him and was about to repeat it louder or try to any way when Lith spoke up, "For six days… I must admit you had me very worried… I don't know what I would have done if I had lost both you and Kera…" After that Link heard him leave the room.

Link spent most of the time sleeping after he had eaten a little of the weak soup Lith had brought him. He was aware, but not fully awake, when the Potion Maker had come. He'd be glad for it later on since her potions always tasted of bitter herbs. The youth could never taste the mushrooms that were also supposed to be in them. He had also been awake a few times when Lith had come in to check on him, but had opted to pretend he was asleep because he could not think of anything else to say to him.

In some ways he was mad at Lith for not telling him about the fact Kera had been the Shadow Sage and could have died at any moment. In others he felt sorry for Lith because he had lost the woman he had loved. Sages could not marry from what Link understood and they were not supposed to have relationships either but Link had a feeling that the two of them had been as close as two people in love could be.

Lea also came to check on him the few times Lith was actually sleeping and Link would speak to him on occasion. Link had been glad to learn that he wasn't the only one who hadn't known that Kera was the Shadow Sage. From what Lea had been able to find out the only ones who did where those old enough to remember when it was openly talked about before Zeth had tried to kill both Kera and Link. The adults had agreed to not talk about it openly after that because they did have people stopping in the village from other places and they did not want to chance Zeth finding out.

During the time he was asleep he had several dreams most of them recalling times he had spent with both Kera and Lith in what seemed like normal family times. Then there were others ones he did not understand. One was of three women who were watching over a young woman that appeared around his age that always seemed surrounded by darkness. Then the three women's attention would shift to a girl a few years younger than him that always seemed surrounded by light. At times one of the women who had forest green eyes, the only thing Link could really recall about her, would look at him with a sad expression. Then her lips would move as if she was saying something after which she would turn her attention back to the young woman in the darkness while the others two kept an eye on the one in the light.

When morning came and light began to filter through the window Link slowly opened his eyes staring at the door as he thought, _Lith said Kera left me a letter…_ It made a bit of sense to him that she would have done so since she had known for so long that her death would come one day. The fact that it told him what to do now that she was gone made him somewhat glad because it meant he did not have to try and figure it out himself. Thinking of her brought fresh tears to his eyes though he did not push the thoughts away. _The only problem is I had to mess her plans up by nearly getting myself killed…_ he thought even if he was not really mad at himself. He would have been if he hadn't chased after her to try and help her even if he could never have found her in the first place. He knew with certainty she would have done the same for him.

For now he was stuck here in Kakariko Village which would soon be no better than a deserted town with everyone planning to leave. It wouldn't be a long wait, however, with how much Red Potion the Potion Maker kept giving him, but he knew the longer he stayed here the more danger he was in since Zeth knew he was still alive. The other problem was when he could travel how was he supposed to avoid the black rain?

Sighing Link attempted to sit up but when moving hurt more then he would like he thought better of it and stayed lying down. He was grateful that he'd be sleeping most of the next few days since if he were awake and stuck in bed he would become very bored and _very_ tempted to try and do something even if it meant hurting like hell. Of course he highly doubted that Lith and Lea would let him really do anything, but he still would be tempted to.

The door to the room opened and Lith walked inside carrying a tray with several things on it. "I'm glad you're awake it'll make changing your bandages easier… But first you eat," Lith told him and Link did as he was told while Lith prepared to change the bandages. Before Link had eaten Lith helped him sit up propping him up with several pillows behind him in order to keep him sitting up without having to strain himself. Once Link had finished eating Lith took a small knife and cut the bandages in a few choice locations so they were easier to take off. With the bandages completely removed Lith examined the wound.

A thin layer of skin, one that would be easily broken if Link was not careful, that was very pale compared to the rest of Link's skin covered the wound along with the stitches Lith had put in before Lea had arrived with the Potion Maker. It had stopped Link from bleeding out at the time while later doses of the Red Potion had also stopped the eternal bleeding at the same time it had helped Link's body begin to heal. The problem was the Red Potions could only do so much and took time to completely heal someone. If there had been a fairy around or even a little bit of Blue Potion Link would have already been completely healed, but no one had seen any fairies besides the one the Kokiri had since the rain had started and only the Kokiri had Blue Potion anymore. For now the bandage was mainly there to keep the injury safe and if Link somehow managed to reopen the wound it would hopefully prevent him from bleeding to death before someone could help him.

There were not a lot of options left to Lith at the moment. Almost all of the villagers had left leaving only a few remaining because they were hoping to convince the Potion Maker to leave. As for the Potion Maker she kept saying she was too old to leave now and there was still a chance people would come here looking for her. She was also very worried about Link, but had made it clear to Lith that he had not been the reason she had chosen to stay.

Lea was also staying despite the fact his family had already left. Almost the entire village had heard the argument between Lea and his father when the older man had learned that Lea would not be leaving the village. Lea's father already disliked the fact that Lea had befriended Link and despite his attempt to convince his father that his decision to stay was not because of Link, but because he hated the idea of abandoning the village he had grown up in especially after how long his great-grandfather had struggled to get the forged built here in the first place Lea's father had not believed him. Out of pure rage he had disowned the boy on the spot. Lea's family had left the next day and so far any attempt to talk about it with Lea had caused him to change the subject so Lith had given up.

Kera being gone also brought about some complications that Lith had not really thought about before now. Water within the village was no longer kept safe from the black rain. The well was safe for awhile Lith figuring the large spell Kera had cast before dying having something to do with it, but it would only last until her magic vanished completely. Lith, Lea and the Potion Maker could safely drink some of the black rain water for a week or so if they only drank a bit a day, but Link could not. They also had to worry about water for Epona, Lea's gelding and the horse him and Kera had shared between the two of them. They also had a limited supply of food for Hylian and horse alike. With the Potion Maker staying Lith could leave Link under her care with Lea to watch over both of them to fetch food, but the journey to Kokiri Forest was at least three days. That would leave the three of them opened to attack without Lith there since Lea didn't really know how to fight, but Lith might have to take the chance if Link continued to heal so slowly even with the Red Potions. Lith's prime choice was to go to Kokiri Forest with Link and seek refuge with the Great Deku Tree while hopefully getting Link healed at the same time. However, with the old woman staying as well as Lea, Lith would not go to worried what would happen to the two of them if they were left alone. Even if it was somehow an option Link couldn't safely travel with his injury.

Sighing Lith began to bandage Link's chest letting Link lean forward against him so Lith could wrap the bandages easier around him. When he had finished he could see just how much sitting up had drained the boy. Whatever had made him take small naps in the afternoon since the incident two years ago was obviously still affecting him now. Lith was also worried it was part of the reason Link's body was healing so slowly, but he couldn't be sure. It just made him wish that Kera and him had tried harder then what they had to find out the cause for it.

Lith helped Link lay back down after he had changed the bandages on Link's abdomen then he changed the bandages on his hands before he left. The wound from the Shrishri attack had already healed so he didn't have to worry about it. Before Lith had even reached the door Link was already back to sleep. "I'm about ready to hunt me down some damn fairies…" Lith muttered under his breath as he closed the door behind him.

While Link was sleeping Lith spent his time drawing water from the well storing the water in wooden barrels that Lea was making as fast as possible. The wooden barrels where then stored in the basement of the Potion Makers house since it was one of the few water proof area's in the village. If they managed to fill that up most likely they would begin to store the barrels in some of the newly abandoned houses. The remaining villagers had helped him that day, but because it had become clear that the Potion Maker was not leaving they had informed Lith they would be leaving the next day. Lith had wished them the best of luck hoping they could manage to find a land where the black rain wasn't falling and wasn't somehow gripped in the wars most of the countries outside of Hyrule where in. Lith retired for the evening when the black rain began to fall taking note that the fires at the blacksmith where still going. He was worried about Lea, but unlike Link the boy was making it quite obvious he wasn't open to talking to Lith so for now he was just going to have to leave him alone. That night Lith stayed in Link's bed in case the boy needed him. Tomorrow he had arranged for the old Potion Maker to watch over Link while Lith would continue to draw water from the well.

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><p>AN – Hope you enjoyed the chapter sorry for the weird cut off point, but it was really the only good place to do so. While reviewing despite me telling myself several times and reminding myself that not only was Zeth created before Twilight Princess (yes I have been planning this story that long) but was also nothing like him I had at one point called Zeth, Zant. Thank you spell-check for catching that one xD *then proceeded to use the find command to make sure she hadn't missed one on accident*. Any reviews of any sort are greatly welcomed guys and thanks again to those who have already left a review :3.


	5. A Hero's Journey Begins

Disclaimer – Legend of Zelda is copyrighted to Nintendo.

A/N – For those of you who noticed the update before this one I kind of posted the wrong chapter up first and I apologize for any confusion this may have caused. This is the correct chapter and I will be posting the promised second chapter later tonight since I finished editing it first *facepalm* I also apologize for the delay in chapters I had not intended to take this long with the next one. I will try to go back to a regular update schedule.

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><p>A Hero's Journey Begins<p>

_While Link was sleeping Lith spent his time drawing water from the well storing the water in wooden barrels that Lea was making as fast as possible. The wooden barrels where then stored in the basement of the Potion Makers house since it was one of the few water proof area's in the village. If they managed to fill that up most likely they would begin to store the barrels in some of the newly abandoned houses. The remaining villagers had helped him that day, but because it had become clear that the Potion Maker was not leaving they had informed Lith they would be leaving the next day. Lith had wished them the best of luck hoping they could manage to find a land where the black rain wasn't falling and wasn't somehow gripped in the wars most of the countries outside of Hyrule where in. Lith retired for the evening when the black rain began to fall taking note that the fires at the blacksmith where still going. He was worried about Lea, but unlike Link the boy was making it quite obvious he wasn't open to talking to Lith so for now he was just going to have to leave him alone. That night Lith stayed in Link's bed in case the boy needed him. Tomorrow he had arranged for the old Potion Maker to watch over Link while Lith would continue to draw water from the well._

Once again Link spent most of the next day sleeping only waking up for small intervals in which the kind old woman that was the Potion Maker would answer questions he had about Kera. Thus during one of the times he was awake he found out Kera had been born around the same time as the old woman.

"Of course everyone figured she was a good candidate for the Shadow temple being Sheikah and all though there were several other Sheikah it could have been. They were all raised as if they would become the Sage of Shadow and were also raised on their duties to the Royal Family in case they weren't picked. We were good friends, her and I for she would come over with the others to study under my mother to learn what she knew about herbs that the Sheikah didn't know. Which wasn't much mind you but they still valued her wisdom… You being raised by her and all I know you'll have a great future ahead of you," she told him smiling. Link had also learned from her that his trouble breathing was because of being stabbed in the chest like he was affected his ability to take in air. She admitted that there may be some side affects because of it in the future as well as a slight weakening in his right arm. When he heard the last part Link was happy that he was left handed.

What really shocked Link the most was when he found out that she was a better cook then Lith or Kera ever were. When he had told her this she had cackled and grinned. "Of course I am boy! Herbs are good for more than just making bitter potions! Yes I know their bitter I've had my fill of them growing up! I'd add honey to make it taste better but I have none left now. You just got to remember as well, Link, Sheikah aren't trained to be house wives and Lith didn't have a mother to teach him how to cook right. Though between the two of them I have no doubt they've taught you exactly what you shouldn't do!" she said then cackled again.

When Link awoke sometime after the rain had started he was a bit surprised to see Lith standing in the room. He had told Link earlier he and Lea were going to be boarding up some of the empty houses during the evening so he had not expected to see him again until tomorrow. The fact that he could hear the old woman in the kitchen talking to Lea told him that Lith was most likely checking in on him. Lith walked over to the edge of the bed and handed Link a rolled parchment that was sealed with the symbol for the Shadow Temple. Then without saying anything to Link he had left the room.

Link had stared at the parchment for awhile before he had broken the seal and unrolled it so he could read what was written inside if it:

_Dearest Link,_

_If Lith has given this scroll to you then it means that I have passed on before I have told you things that you needed to know. These things I had planned to tell you once you had reached a certain age and I regret that I have passed on before you reached that age. I would have preferred to have told you these things myself so you would have had someone to talk to about it if something somehow was unclear to you. I can only hope that Lith will be able to explain things to you if need be. Some of the things I needed to have told you I probably should have told you long ago, but I could not stand the thought of what your reaction would have been if I had told you._

_No doubt by now you have learned that I am or was the Sage of Shadow. I should have told you this a long time ago. I did not do so because it is common knowledge that the Sages are dying out almost as if we have some type of illness with no known cure and I could not stand the thought of you constantly wondering just when it was that I would die. I know Lith did not agree with me on this decision he believed I should have told you, but he did agree the choice was mine so he left it up to me. I am sorry Link and I hope you will forgive me for my choice._

_Now that I have passed on there are only two Sages left in the world; The Sage of the Forest and the Sage of the Light. Due to this things are going to become a lot harder for the Sage of the Forest because for as long I was around and able to keep Kakariko Village alive Zeth always focused his attention on the village. Even if the villagers believed that Zeth thought I dead after that night the man is no fool and no doubt has realized the village has only survived as long as it has because I was still here. He'll realize that I am no longer around when Kakariko Village becomes abandoned and see it as a sign that it is his time to focus on the Forest Sage. Doing so will mean those who have somehow survived outside of the areas protected by the Sages will have a harder time accessing the food the Kokiri have to offer. _

_What this means is there will be more people who will surrender to Zeth or leave Hyrule all together. Either way it means he will be one step closer to conquering Hyrule. Thankfully, the Lost Woods will be able to stall him for awhile since the only ones who can safely travel through it are in fact the Kokiri. I fear, though, that the creatures in the plate armor may also be immune to the Lost Woods magic, but I pray that I am wrong. The Great Deku Tree is wise and the Forest Sage knows a few tricks they should be able to deal with them for a time even if the protection of the Lost Woods fails them._

_As for the Sage of Light, Zeth has already proven that he does not see her as a threat. She is old and the people she was meant to protect have either already surrendered to Zeth or have fled since she is in charge of guarding the area around Hyrule Castle. This is as much of a boon as it is a bane for her. As long as he holds that land the black rain will not fall upon it, but it also means that if for some reason she choose to retaliate against Zeth there would be no one to stand by her side._

_I do not know if you know this or not since you where quite young when you came running to me, but you are the descendant of the Hylian Knights. You're hair color and eye color is proof of that and it is this bloodline that makes Zeth wish to kill you. No doubt he has heard the tales of the Hero of Time and fears that another Hero will rise up from his bloodline that flows through many of the Hylian Knights. It means he fears you and he will stop at nothing in his pursuit to kill you._

He may have been young, but Link still remembered this since most of his memories of his father was him mentioning it to him somehow. The one he remembered clearest was how his father told him how lucky he was to have a son that had the blood of knights flowing through his veins. Of course this meant that the bloodline must have come from his mother not his father even though his father had been trained in how to use a sword most likely by Link's grandfather, his mother's father, which he barely remembered. He also sort of knew it was the reason Zeth wanted him dead, but he hadn't been sure of it until know. He continued to read the letter for now;

_There is a chest I have left for you with things the Sheikah have watched over for many generations. Most of it is for you while the items that are inside a sealed satchel are to be given to the Shiekah who are guarding the Hylian Royal Heir. Link, I need you to find them for me and bring these items to them. It's very important that they get them now that I am no longer here to protect them. I also hope you may be able to help them somehow with getting the Hylian Royal Heir back in their rightful place._

_I want you to go the Kokiri Forest and seek an audience with the Great Deku Tree. He may or may not have a clue to their location, but if nothing else, Link, I wish you to see what Hyrule once was back before you were born and the Great Deku tree is the only one with the power to show you. I think it is only right for you to see what exactly it is you will most likely be fighting for. I know with your weakness to the taint in the black rain travel will be difficult for you so I want you to take Lith with you for safety. Also so he does not live the rest of his life in a village that will no doubt be abandoned now that I am gone._

Link paused there for a moment already knowing he could not bring Lith along with him. The Potion Maker had told him of her decision to remain within the village and she had also told him what had happened to Lea. Link knew Lith would not leave either of them alone. He was going to have to find a way to cross Hyrule Field on his own. Well almost on his own, he would of course bring Epona with him. At least Lith would not be left in an abandoned town like Kera had feared. He would keep this part of the letter to himself knowing it would upset Lith if he knew that he was going against Kera's wishes. Link then continued to read the letter noting a couple of sentences had been covered in ink meaning she had re-written this part a few times;

_I should have told you this since I first found out about it, but it was one of the things I feared how you would react to… Link I am most certain that you are the carrier of the Triforce of Courage, the same one the Hero of Time once carried. That means you, Link, are the answer to the prayers of many for it marks you as the one destined to save Hyrule. This is the reason I have had you keep your hand covered in an attempt to hide the mark I had once told you was a birthmark from those who could have caused trouble for you. The Great Deku Tree will be able to explain to you better than anyone just what it means to be the carrier of the Triforce of Courage._

_Link… The day that you came running up to me is one of the most important days in my life. Even then I knew you were destined for great things… I am so sorry that I can no longer be there for you and can only hope you will forgive me for keeping these things from you…_

_In the days to come remember what I have taught you, but most of all remember that you will _never_ be alone on your journey. I pray that the Three Goddesses will watch over you always. I just wish I could have been there to welcome you home once your journey has been completed…_

_I will love you always my son,_

_Kera_

Link reread the letter a few more times to make sure he had understood it correctly before he rolled it back up. Then he removed the bandage from his left hand ignoring the wound on his palm as he starred at the back of it and the "birthmark" that was there. _Is it really the mark of the Triforce of Courage? _He thought having never really paid the mark much attention besides making sure he kept it covered. Why would a boy like him be the next hero of Hyrule? Not to mention just what could he do to save it? The sages had failed to do so and they were the most powerful in Hyrule next to the Three Goddesses! But if it was true… That he was the new hero everyone had been waiting for then he'd be able to save Hyrule from the terrible fate that waited it.

_But how can I save Hyrule, I couldn't even save Kera…_ he thought and was slightly annoyed when the voice decided to no longer be quite in order to agree with him. It made him realize it was not really fair to himself to say that since there had been nothing Link could have done to save Kera, but he still felt bad that he had not been able to.

_Make up your mind, Kid, _the voice told him before it decided to banish itself to the corner of Link's mind he was always shoving it into. He found its behavior a bit strange but he shook his head pushing all thoughts aside knowing there would be better times for him to figure it all out other then now when he was half asleep most of the time. He bandaged his hand back up before he looked out the window to watch as the rain fell.

Over the next few days Link continued to heal and it did not take long before the bandages on his hands as well as his stomach had been removed for good. Both palms had horizontal scars across them from stopping Zeth's sword, but it was better than the alternative which Link had no doubt would have been death. There was also one across his stomach, but the Potion Maker had told him that most likely it would vanish in time. The Potion Maker, who knew sleeping like Link did was actually part of the healing process, had told Lith not to worry about it. However, even she began to worry when he continued to sleep so long even with the wound in his chest mending quickly thanks to all the potions she was giving him. She was about ready to force Lith to take Link to the Kokiri when Link's sleeping begun to decrease. It was around then that Link was allowed to get up and move around which also helped decrease his sleeping to what was almost normal for him naps and all.

The times he was up was spent with Lith, Lea and the old woman as the four of them went over things Link would need to bring with him on his journey limiting the items to what could fit inside Epona's extra large saddle bags. She could carry a lot of weight being the type of horse she was but Lith did not want to put too much weight on the mare. The less weight she had the faster she could carry Link across Hyrule Field which mean less time he was exposed to the black rain which as far as everyone was concerned, was a very good thing.

Both Lith and Link had agreed it would be best that he slept only when the rain was at its calmest which would be from sun down until the moon was at its highest peak in the sky. After that the tarp he would use to keep the rain off himself would no longer be of any use with the way the spell that controlled the dark rain worked. This also made Link's water proof cape useless for the most part, but it would help to lessen how much rain he was exposed to which mean it would take longer for it to have any effect on him.

One evening the four of them were sitting in the kitchen talking over supper. Link was almost completely healed by then, but not enough for either Lith or the Potion Maker to allow him to leave. "Remember Link Naryu's Love has more than the use of blocking spells and attacks," Lith began, "It can also be used to try and protect you and Epona from the rain."

Link paused in his eating as he looked at Lith telling him, "I have problems trying to use Naryu's Love under normal conditions. There is no guarantee I will be able to use it once it starts raining and the more times I fail the more magic I waste. I won't be able to sleep long enough out there to let it fully replenish."

The old woman smiled. "That's where I come in," she told Link pulling two glass bottles out of the satchel she always had with her. Both bottles had a type of green liquid in it. Both he and Lea stared at the two bottles having never seen a potion that color before. "I was able to make these two Green Potions with the last shipment the Kokiri sent to us. Green Potions are used in restoring magic. I will also send along with you a couple of Red Potions just to be safe," she explained setting a few more bottles down. The bottles where small enough to fit in a pouch at the waist and the glass had been made sturdy to where it was almost near impossible to break them. The only time Link had seen one break was when a boy had dropped one from the wooden watch tower near the center of the village. Even then it had only shattered because it had a flaw in it from when it was made.

"Thank you," Link told her smiling and the old woman nodded. Lith had also reminded Link that night of the multiple ways he had been taught to use Din's Fire one such being to dry him and Epona off. It would not really affect just how the taint would affect him, but if nothing else it would keep Epona from getting sores from the saddle. With Lith wanting him to use both the spells he wondered if the two potions would be enough but the old woman had assured him that unlike the red potion the green potions where not one dose per bottle.

After supper he and Lea sat in the main room talking to one another. "So what exactly are you going to be doing now Lea?" Link asked. There would not be much a blacksmith could do in a town with only three people which made Link wonder just what he was planning on doing.

"If nothing else I can always make sure there are plenty of arrows on hand for you… I mean just because you're leaving does not mean you cannot come back. Besides as far as we know I am the only blacksmith that you can safely reach. Which means I will have at least one person in need of my work," Lea told him grinning slightly then he sighed. "That is if I can even get a hold of any material to work with. My father took all the Rupee's we had with him. I can only hope whoever ordered all that stuff he had me make shows up at some point."

"Do you regret staying here, Lea?" Link asked wondering if his friend would even talk to him about it.

"Somewhat, I mean I miss my Ma, but not so much my father. At least now I work for myself and not him," Lea told him. "There is also no telling that where ever they may be heading if they'll actually be better off or not. All I can do now is pray they do find some place safe to live…"

It was two days after they had sat around talking that the old woman had agreed to allow Link to leave. She had given him a warning to be careful though because while the skin wouldn't break open again there was still a chance he could cause the internal bleeding again. Link was also still having a bit of trouble breathing, but the old woman had told him it would either lessen or go away completely she just could not be sure which it was. She had also once again reminded Link of the chance that his right arm may now be weaker than it once was.

Link had promised her he would be careful and had told her he would remember. While Lith prepared the food both he and Epona would need because there was obviously no longer any grass on Hyrule Field for the horse to eat Link went to find the chest that Kera's letter had mentioned. The young man walked into the storage room and carefully moved things aside until he found a large chest with the Sheikah crest carved onto its lid. He could remember when he was younger asking Kera what was inside of it only to be told that he would have to wait until he was older before he would know. It was the only chest in the storage room he had not been allowed into so it had to be the one Kera had mentioned in the letter.

Link could see signs in the dust that the chest had been opened pretty recently meaning Kera had gotten into it one last time before she had died. The first thing Link noticed upon opening it was a sword and its sheath that where in much better condition than the one Lith had given him. The sheath had been made out of a dark leather that Link had no doubt would endure more than his old one. Link pulled the sword and sheath out to get a better look at it.

It was easy to tell both of them were old, but the straps on the sheath were brand new. The thicker one that went over his shoulder had padding on it to keep it from hurting his shoulder. In the swords dark purple hand guard was engraved the Sheikah symbol painted red. This made Link smile as he drew the blade to look at it. There were signs that it had been recently sharpened and polished making him wonder if Lea had done it or if Kera had done it herself. He placed the sword back into its sheath then leaned it up against the wall to see what else was inside the chest.

The next item Link pulled out was a shield that unlike the one he was use to was metal. The shield was mostly painted blue with the Hylian Royal Family's crest painted on it as well. Lith had a shield much like this one on the wall of his house that had belonged to his father and Link could remember seeing his father carry one around on his back like it as well. That memory was one of the reason's Link had chosen to use a shield and sword instead of a different fighting style. He leaned the shield up against the wall as well digging more items out of the chest. What came out next was a long sleeve almost skin tight light gray shirt that could be unbuttoned at the front of the neck. Link did not understand what this was for due to the colder months still being a ways off. However, the next thing Link pulled out explained the reason for the shirt. It was a chain mail shirt, one that would most likely reach mid thigh once he put it on. The light gray shirt was there to keep the chain mail from rubbing ones skin raw as they moved about. Next was a leather belt that had a couple of pouches on it one big enough to put at least two of the potion bottles into it.

The next two items in the chest shocked Link more than anything else that was in it. He stood there for a few minutes just starring at them having recognized them right away from the stories Kera had forced him to remember before he reached for the first item. It was a dark green hat that came to a point that when it was worn would reach the middle of his back. He could see stitching near the base of it where it had been repaired at some point as well as more near the tip. The second was a dark green tunic that was almost as long as the chain mail shirt. Its side had been cut from the bottom of the tunic up to where the sleeves where, but right around the waist lacing began up to the sleeves. The front of the tunic right at the center of the neckline had a small v-like shape cut out of it. He could see more signs of repair on the sleeves and wondered if the lacing on the sides had been another way to repair it.

_These can't really be the Hero's Cloths…_ he thought as he stood there holding the tunic out in front of him as he stared at it slightly wide eyed almost as if he was afraid it would attack him at any moment. _Could they?_ He questioned as he turned the tunic slightly.

_Oh, knock it off, kid, it won't bite you,_ he heard the voice say and he ignored it as he draped the tunic over one of his arms to look in the chest. The only thing left in there was the satchel that had also been mentioned in Kera's letter. It was smaller than he had estimated meaning he would have more room in Epona's saddle bags then had first thought.

_Wonder what's inside of it…_

_You could always open it up and find out who knows the Ocarina of Time may be in it, _the voice suggested and he was about to tell it off when he realized it was _joking_ when it chuckled slightly! It really had been acting differently since he had almost died and it even kept retreating to its own corner in his mind on his own when it could tell he was tired of it. It alarmed him a bit because he was always use to it being cynical towards him though it had been sarcastic at times, but not outright making a joke!

With a sigh he pulled the satchel out of the chest and closed it. Then he sat down on top of it and stared at the tunic some more trying to figure out what to do with it now. _She said it's yours kid, why not just put it on?_ The voice suggested and Link blinked holding the tunic up once more. The letter had stated everything, but the satchel was meant for him…

He laid the tunic down on another chest as he stood up undoing his belt so he could pull the light brown tunic he was wearing off as well as slip his large knife off the belt. He set them aside then picked up the long sleeve shirt up and pulled it on over his head leaving the buttons on the neck undone for the moment. Link then picked up the chain mail and hesitated a bit before he put it on as well. Since he had never actually worn any before he had to adjust it a few times before it felt like it was sitting right.

When it came to putting the tunic on, however, it took him a few moments before he could actually convince himself to put it on because he knew once he did he would be accepting the fate that had been decided for him the moment the Triforce had appeared on the back of his hand. This meant he was accepting the fact that he was the only person who could save Hyrule from the trouble it now found itself in. Just how was he supposed to even do that?

_Simple, one step at a time kid, _the voice said and Link had a feeling it was finding his hesitation a bit funny.

"Easy for you to say it's not like you actually have to _do _anything!" Link snapped at it getting a bit irritated at it. At this point he did not even care if Lith managed to hear him or not. The voice chuckled slightly before going into its little "corner" where it was silent once again.

Link picked the Hero's Tunic up and slowly pulled it on. Then he picked the new belt up slipping his knife onto it and fastened it around his waist. When it came to putting the hat on it took Link a few tries to figure out just how he was supposed to wear it. He ended up having to adjust his ponytail to where it was a bit higher then he normally had it before he could get it on correctly.

He had expected to feel a bit different once he had put the Hero's Cloth's on, but he did not when he was not counting the weighed down feeling the chain mail was giving him. He could not help but smile at how foolish he had been acting. These cloths might have been worn by the Hero of Time himself, but that's all they were; cloths. Anyone could wear them and it wouldn't really mean anything. What really marked the hero as _The Hero_ was the Triforce of Courage which had been a part of him for a very long time.

Link shook his head slightly as he walked back into the main room leaving the sword and shield in the storage room since he would need to put his cape on before strapping the sword on, but he did bring the satchel with him. He continued on into the kitchen so he could put some of the things Lith and him had gathered up and set out on the table into the pouches at his waist. He stopped halfway to the table when he noticed the shocked look Lith was giving him, not that he could really blame him for it.

"… I never did believe her when she told me she had the Hero's Cloths in storage," Lith told Link as he continued over to the table. He set the satchel down on top of the table then picked up a Red and Green potion each putting them into the larger pouch at his waist.

"I don't blame you… These where the last things I expected to pull out of that chest," he told Lith as he picked up a small roll of bandages, a small container of ointment, sewing kit, some dried meat that was wrapped in wax paper, and a tinder box placing them in the smaller pouch. There would be a bigger medical kit in Epona's saddle along with a map Lith was giving him, food for both Epona and him, some changes of cloths which Link would switch what he as bringing after what he found in the chest most likely only long sleeve shirts to go under the chain mail and a few other things. There would also be a sleeping roll and tarp that would be attached to the back of Epona's saddle.

Lith walked over to Link looking at the chain mail that was visible above the neckline of the Hero's Tunic. "I'll add some other things so you can keep that from rusting on you," Lith told him then left heading for his house to fetch what he was talking about.

As for Link he headed for the loft to fetch the journal he was currently writing in along with some charcoal. He had updated the journal on what had happened the past few days last night. The other two he would leave here for now since the house did belong to him until such time another Sage of Shadow was found. Once he had the journal and charcoal he set them down on the table with the rest of the stuff. After setting those down Link walked over to the door to fetch the dark green water proof cloak Lith had given him the day before. _He says he didn't believe her yet he gives me a cloak almost the exact same color as the tunic and hat,_ he thought to himself as he pulled the cloak on and did the metal clasp up on his neck.

Now that he had his cloak on he fetched the sword strapping it on and made sure the straps were tight enough to where the sheath would not move about. Then Link picked up his new shield connecting it to the swords sheath. He was a bit worried about the shield since it was made out of steel. He had only ever used the wooden one so he knew he was not going to be used to its weight. On top of the fact his right arm was now weaker than before he wondered just how long he could fight now with the shield. The best thing to do would be to try and get use to it _before_ he had to fight.

While in the storage room Link also grabbed his bow and quiver, attaching it to his belt, as well as extra bow strings putting them in the smaller pouch at his waist. The quiver unlike normal ones had a top and had been made water proof. It was large enough to store his bow inside of it and since he probably would not need it anytime soon he left it unstrung and put the bow inside the quiver closing the top.

As Link walked out of the storage room Lith came back inside bringing Epona's saddle bags with him so they could back them. "The tarp and bedroll are already attached to her saddle you'll just need to put it on her," Lith told him as he walked past Link. Link followed him into the kitchen to help pack the saddle bags. When they were done the two sat down at the table to eat breakfast. They had gotten up early in order to give Link as much day light as they could to travel.

"Are you planning to come back once you're done?" Lith asked looking at Link.

Link blinked thinking it was strange question for Lith to ask but he nodded and said, "This is my home."

Lith nodded in agreement and then grinned. "Maybe if you're lucky you'll come back with a young woman to start raising your own family," Lith joked and Link choked on what he was eating only to have Lith pat him on that back. "I was only joking Link!" Lith laughed as Link took a drink of water not finding it as funny as the older man did.

As the sun began to rise, Link finished saddling Epona tying two water bags onto the horn of the saddle before leading her out of the stable. At the edge of the village he found Lith, Lea and the Potion Maker waiting for him. When Link walked over to them the older woman handed Link a package. Link blinked then proceeded to open it. Inside was a small leather pouch full of throwing needles as well as a leather mask for the lower part of the face that had been dyed the same dark green as his cloak.

"I know boy that Kera told you she doubted you'd ever use them, but it's better to be safe than sorry. As for the mask it is water proof like your cloak so it will help keep the rain off you as well," she explained.

Link smiled tying the mask on, but pulled it down to his neck to where he only had to pull it up when he needed it. As for the pouch of throwing needles it had a small clasp on them to where he could attach it to his right gauntlet once he got a replacement for them that is. "Thank you," Link began then he realized something, "The entire time that I have lived in this village I don't think I have ever heard your name mentioned even once. Everyone has always called you the potion maker."

Lea blinked and looked at her as well. "He's right I don't think I've ever heard of it either," Lea agreed with Link wondering why neither one of them had thought of asking her before.

The old woman cackled as she patted both boys' on the arm. "Its Kotate boys and don't forget it!" she answered then turned her attention solely to Link. "I am expecting to see you when you return!" she informed Link before she hobbled off leaning on her cane as she went back to her house. Link had a feeling even if the journey took him over twenty years she really would be here when he returned.

Link watched her go before turning his attention to Lea. The red head tossed something at him and Link caught it starring at it. It was actually two things Lea had tossed at him; new gauntlets. Like his old ones they were made out of leather, but of a better quality then what Link's had been. They also had steel arm guards attached to them each having the Sheikah symbol etched into them. Link looked up at the older boy a bit shocked that he had just given him these since he had a feeling the leather alone was worth a lot.

Lea shrugged slightly. "I found them in storage the other day. Someone must have ordered them from my grandfather and never came to pick them up. Since yours were recently destroyed I figure you could use them," Lea told him.

It wasn't hard to see that Lea wasn't exactly telling the truth. Lea's grandfather wouldn't have needed to rush when making these if someone had really ordered them from him, but Link could see that even though they were well made they had been made quickly which meant Lea himself had made them.

"Thank you, Lea," Link told him as he pulled the gauntlets on making sure they went on over the gray shirts long sleeves. Lea slowly nodded and held his hand out to Link. Link grasped his hand and the two shook before Link turned his attention to Lith as Lea took a few steps back.

Link wasn't quite sure what to say to Lith so he stepped forward and hugged him. Lith smiled softly and hugged him back.

"Be careful Link and remember Epona won't get sick from the rain like you do so if worse come to worse make a straight out run for the forest. I know she'd do it for you. Once you're inside of the forest it will no longer rain so you won't have to worry about that understand?" Lith asked and Link nodded as he climbed up into Epona's saddle. The older man knew Link wouldn't run Epona into the ground but Lith was afraid Link might do it to himself. Lith patted Link on the leg then slapped Epona on the rump. If Link wasn't the one on Epona's back the horse would have reared then taken off into a gallop, but with how much she loved Link the gentle mare just took off running. Link who had yet to grab hold of the reins quickly took a hold of them and steered the mare in the right direction.

He hadn't gotten very far before he made Epona stop and turn slightly too where he only had to turn to the saddle to look at Lith and Lea. There was something he still had to do. He took a deep breath and cupped his hands to his mouth shouting as loud as he could. "_I promise I'll come back Dad and Lea." _He then had Epona turn back around and coaxed the horse back into a gallop.

Lith watched as Link rode off a grin on his face. When he could no longer see him he let out a sigh and turned to look towards the graveyard. "We've done all that we can from him…" Lith said then shook his head. He then turned towards Lea and grinned clapping the youth on his shoulder. "Come on since the two of us have nothing else to do why don't I teach you how to fight," Lith told him as he began walking back towards the village. Lea starred after him a moment before following after him. It really couldn't hurt to learn how to defend himself…

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><p>AN - And so our young Hero sets out on his journey not knowing what awaits him in the future… xD Hope you like this chapter! Having Link call Lith Dad before he left was a last minute decision literally added as I was re-writing this part of the story. I figured since he had a nightmare about not being able to call Kera mother there was no way he was ridding off without calling Lith dad even if he couldn't remember the dream. Originally Link never felt bad about not calling them mother and father thus hadn't had the nightmare about Kera so it just didn't fit.

Also this is another chapter that had to be split. In the course of adding the dream with Kera, adding Lea into the story, and making the voice a more prominent feature in Link's life what should have been chapter four turned into chapter four and five since it reached twelve thousand words :3

As always I appreciate any comments, reviews, spelling, grammar and any other type of corrections with much love :3


	6. Moving Forward

Disclaimer – Legend of Zelda is copyrighted to Nintendo.

A/N – As promised here is the Second Chapter if you have not seen the first one please go back and read it. At least this time it's in the right order xD

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><p>Moving Forward<p>

_He hadn't gotten very far before he made Epona stop and turn slightly too where he only had to turn to the saddle to look at Lith and Lea. There was something he still had to do. He took a deep breath and cupped his hands to his mouth shouting as loud as he could. "I promise I'll come back Dad and Lea." He then had Epona turn back around and coaxed the horse back into a gallop._

_Lith watched as Link rode off a grin on his face. When he could no longer see him he let out a sigh and turned to look towards the graveyard. "We've done all that we can from him…" Lith said then shook his head. He then turned towards Lea and grinned clapping the youth on his shoulder. "Come on since the two of us have nothing else to do why don't I teach you how to fight," Lith told him as he began walking back towards the village. Lea starred after him a moment before following after him. It really couldn't hurt to learn how to defend himself…_

Once Epona had ran out onto Hyrule Field Link pulled back on the reins to slow her down to a walk. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about actually going to the Kokiri Forest. If it had been under different circumstances he probably would have been excited, but with what all that had been happening his emotions at the moment were understandingly a mess even he couldn't sort through. With a sigh he decided he really didn't want to sort through them at the moment. It was more important that he paid attention to what was happening around him in case they were attacked by something then trying to figure out just what he felt.

Even with Epona now walking it did not take her very long to reach the wooden bridge that spanned the gorge leading to the main area of Hyrule Field. When Epona had reached the center of the bridge she halted on her own much like she had done before when Link had gone out to hunt the Shrishir. At first Link was confused as to why she had stopped, but then he remembered that she wasn't use to going past this area on her own. No other horse with them meant to her she was supposed to stop here.

Link smiled and gently patted the mare on the neck as he told her, "Our world is changing Epona." He then coaxed her to continue walking across the bridge. As she did so Link could hear her footsteps echo through the gorge below the bridge. Link kept his focus forward having no real interest in the gorge.

As far as he was concerned there was no reason to rush the mare for the moment because he knew that most likely before he reached the forest he would have to test her stamina. He was hoping that with the protection from the water proof cloak and mask that he wouldn't end up being affected by the taint in the black rain, but it really depended on how much rain the two items managed to keep off him. It didn't help that the taint in the rain had a tendency of eating away at all forums of water proofing unless something was sealed in an air tight container. Zeth had really gone all out on this rain of his and sometimes Link wish he could whack him over the head because of it.

From what he knew of the taint should not be able to eat through the water proofing on his cloak and mask within the three days it took to reach the Kokiri Forest, but there was no guarantee since no one had really tested it before they just knew it happened. He just hoped that the Great Deku Tree or maybe even some of the Kokiri would know of a safer way for him to travel because if he did have to hunt down the lost heir who knew just how much traveling in the rain he would have to do. _Of course if they did have one then most likely they would have let the caravan drivers know about it already,_ he thought to himself with a sigh. Still it would not hurt to check there was always a chance they had not told the caravan of a safer way to travel because he was the only one actually affected by the rain's taint like this so there really would have been no reason to tell them really.

When Epona had stepped off the bridge there was no reason for Link to pull out the map that Lith had given him in order to figure out where he was supposed to go. The wagons that had traveled before him had left their marks on the field so Link only had to make sure Epona followed them. He would just have to watch out for the area's those who had fled the village might have veered from the trail in search of a new place to live. There was such an occurrence here since one of the wagon ruts headed straight away from the bridge but he knew that direction led to Hyrule Castle and beyond that the desert the first being the last place he wanted to be at the moment with who was in charge and the desert was no use to him. So he gently tugged on the rein having Epona turn to the left and all that remained for him to do for now was make sure she stayed between them so she did not somehow hurt herself by miss stepping.

They continued to travel until midday at which point Link stopped Epona so she could drink some water then he got some for himself as well as pulling something out to eat before he climbed back up into the saddle. As Epona walked and he ate the youth looked around at Hyrule Field. There wasn't really much to it now thanks to the tainted rain that had fallen since before he was born. Lith had told him if this continued there was a very good chance that Hyrule Field would become a desert. Link now understood what he meant since he could only spot a few trees here and there. Without the trees the topsoil would be blown away by the wind and one day all that would be there would be sand much like the Gerudo Desert.

It made Link wonder just what Zeth had planned to do about all the plant life he had managed to kill when he had finished conquering Hyrule. _He probably didn't really think that far ahead,_ he thought to himself, but Zeth had proven on more than one occasion throughout this campaign of his that he was outstanding at planning ahead. Still the tainted rain to Link seemed like a _very_ drastic step to take especially since Zeth cast the spell for it almost as soon as he had taken over Castle Town and Hyrule Castle which meant almost the entire battle force of Hyrule had gone with it. Link could not help but think something must have occurred around then that had put him on edge to cast the spell so quickly. After all would it have not been better used if he had hidden the spell away until his enemies thought they could actually beat him then cast it to break their spirit? From what Link could tell doing it the way he had done had only caused Hylians to become even more enraged at him thus those who were still free of his control had dug in. Of course with how long the spell had been active now it had broken a few people, but it had also made others to stubborn to give up. Then again there were not all that many left now that he thought about it. Maybe it was not such a bad plan after all…

To keep the spell active as long as he had Zeth must have had a great deal of magic or had others like himself that could use the tainted magic as Kera and Lith had called it so often. Otherwise there had to be something that the spell was tied to that managed to keep it going. It could not possibly be Zeth alone since he was also the one casting the magic that made the things in armor move as well as all the shadowy creatures. At least Link was really; _really_ hoping it was not just him because if it was he could not think of any way that he could actually beat him on his own.

He remembered how one night when he had been talking to Kera asking her what would happen to the dying land once someone had manage to beat Zeth. She had told him that most likely what would needed to be done would be to transfer plant life from within the Kokiri Forest and the Lost Wood, those that could survive outside of the woods that is, out into the field and surrounding areas. Some could also probably be taken from Castle Town, but she had told him if there had been any plants that could have only been found in the areas affected by the black rain those where most likely lost forever. Link had then asked about the wild life that had fled and Kera had told him they had all most likely migrated to area's the rain did not fall and would most likely come back once they had found out the rain had ceased to fall. He just hoped she was right. It would be sad if, after Zeth had been beaten, no wildlife returned to the area. Of course he knew it would most likely be decades before they would return, but it still would be sad in his opinion.

It was because Hyrule Field looked like this that Link found it hard to imagine what the Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods would look like once he reached it. It was even harder for him to try and picture what Hyrule Field must have looked like when Kera was a child. Link could not remember if he had ever seen a living tree much less a single blade of grass. He had of course seen drawings and paintings of them in some of the books Kera had made him read but a drawing wasn't the real thing and only made him feel like it had come out of the artist imagination not that it was real so he still could not truly imagine what it would look like. It made him want to see the forest just so he could know if those paintings where the real thing or not despite the reassurances from Kera that they were.

Another thing Link wanted to see if it was at all possible was a clear sky where one could actually see the moon and the stars and if one dare to look at it the sun as well. The dark gray clouds that floated over Hyrule never vanished thanks to Zeth's spell, but he had been told thanks to both the Great Deku Tree and the Forest Sage's efforts there were no clouds above the Lost Woods and the Kokiri Forest except when it had regular rain. Of course one could tell where the sun or the moon where by the light that managed to shine through the clouds, but it was hard during the day and from what Lith told him right near impossible to spot the moon at night.

Link knew that he should be able to see the sky over the forest from outside of it and is some ways he was hoping to reach it by nightfall just so he could see the moon and the stars. Kera had told him the stars where the thing she had missed the most about being unable to see the sky anymore. As for Lith he could more easily recall what flowers looked like then a cloudless night sky, but even what little he could remember he had told Link it was a sight to behold. He had also been told it was something he had to see for himself in order to understand exactly what the others were saying about it.

The young man spent most of the afternoon trying to picture a clear night sky as well as a forest, but was very unsuccessful. At least he believed he was not he would not know for certain until he actually saw both. Soon he pulled away from such thoughts, though, in order to find a place to make camp for the night. He needed to find a tree or something similar near the wagon ruts that was strong enough that he could tie the tarp to without having to worry about the tree or whatever snapping in two from the strong winds that came when the moon was at its highest.

As for why it needed to be near the wagon ruts it was because he would be unable to see anything through the storm further then a few feet ahead of him. The only way he would be able to travel in the correct direction was to keep following them and hope he did not end up following the wrong ones if he came across some that went a different direction. He believed he would be able to see the wagon ruts even if he had to keep starring at Epona's feet. Of course he believed he could trust the mare to follow them on her own once he managed to get her in the middle of them.

The sun was almost beginning to set when Link finally found a tree that would most likely work. The young Hylian jumped out of the saddle and walked Epona over to it. He then untied the tarp from the back of the saddle and grabbed some rope from the saddle bags. The youth had to climb back into the saddle to be able to tie the tarp high enough to where even Epona could rest under it so she would not get wet for at least half the night. Then Link rolled several rocks onto the other end of the tarp having failed picking them when he had tried he hoped they would be heavy enough to stand the stronger winds of the nightly storm. When he was done with the rocks he untied his bedroll and unrolled it underneath the tarp. After that he got food for himself and Epona as well as water. While he ate he sat on the bedroll thinking.

He was trying to figure out if it would be best for him to leave Epona's saddle on or if it would be better to take it off. If he removed it he had no doubt that the mare would spend the few hours of rest they had better, but he chanced leaving the saddle behind if they were suddenly attacked by something. Of course Link had never heard of anything attacking in Hyrule Field that couldn't easily be dealt with if one knew how to fight. _Of course there is a chance that people have died and couldn't tell others about the nastier things lurking in this field, _he heard the voice say and he rolled his eyes. "We would have noticed if someone had gone missing," he said as he glanced at Epona _It does not have to be someone from Kakariko village, _the voice pointed out and Link just ignored it. With the chance that he might need Epona to make an all out run for Kokiri Forest at some point Link decided it would be better to allow her to rest while it was possible.

When he had finished eating Link removed Epona's saddle along with the saddlebags and horse blanket leaving the rest of the horse tack on. As for himself he removed his sword and shield laying them near the bedroll. He would leave his chain mail on for now even if it proved to be uncomfortable to sleep in because it would be safer to leave on. Link also removed his belt so he could lie on his back if he chose to do so. When Link was certain everything was settled the youth lay down on the bedroll pulling his mask up as well as his hood on in an attempt to keep from getting soaked from the rain he knew would most likely wake him up in a few hours.

As he had predicted Link was awoken by cold rain hitting him directly in the face. He stood up fixing his hat that had tried to slip off while he slept glad that it had not been blown away. Epona was none too happy about getting wet in the rain because she was much to use to being in the stable when nighttime had hit and she was expressing such. Link pet her nose gently to calm her down before he proceeded to saddle her. When the saddle was on Link rolled the bedroll up attaching it to the saddle. Then he picked his belt up putting it back on then he had to fight against the wind to keep his cloak down so he could strap his sword and shield back on. Next Link climbed up into Epona's saddle to untie the tarp then climbed out of it again after putting the rope up in the saddle bags to remove the rocks. Once again Link had to fight against the wind in order to fold the tarp up so he could put it up.

When he had finished breaking camp Link climbed back up into the saddle directing Epona until she was once again between the wagon ruts. As the mare walked Link made sure to keep his eyes on the ground to where he could make sure they were going in the right direction. While he kept his focus on the ground Link attempted to cast Naryu's Love. The first time he failed when some very cold rain managed to hit him in the eyes as well as the wind blowing his hood off trying to get his hat. The spell had shattered when he had quickly moved to clamp his left hand down on top of his head to keep from losing that hat.

With a sigh Link pulled his hood back up and tried again. This time Link managed to succeed stopping the rain and wind from hitting the two all together. Once the spell was going Link only need to make sure he kept supplying it magic to keep it going as well as making it move with them. The supplying it magic part was one of the reasons Link disliked this particular spell. When it wasn't mobile it could last a very long time depending on how much magic one put into it when it was originally cast. To be able to keep it moving with them like it was required the spell having to be continuously supplied with magic. The problem was using the spell like this had a tendency of using up Link's magic quite quickly. Sadly, he had yet to build up the ability to sore vast amounts of magic within himself.

For the moment Link would continue to use it because it was better than the alternative if he kept getting hit by the black rain. While the rain was not hitting him Link took the opportunity to wring out what water had managed to reach his cloths. So far the cloak had managed to mainly do its job even with the wind blowing the rain in all sorts of directions. Yes the Hero's Tunic, his dark brown breeches and the Hero's Hat where wet, but the cloak had managed to keep most of it off to where he wasn't completely soaked to the skin. The only part of him that had really gotten hit by the rain so far was the upper part of his face and bangs. It was so little of an amount that if Link did somehow manage to keep Naryu's Love going until sunrise then there would be no adverse effects caused by the taint much to his happiness.

It did not surprise Link when his magic was almost used up a few hours before then sun would rise. Not wanting to risk letting the spell drop and trying to start it up again Link pulled the Green Potion out of the pouch at his waist and looked at it. Kotate had told him with the amount of magic he had there should at least be enough for three doses in a bottle. Link pulled the cork out of the bottle and proceeded to drink what he guessed was a third of the bottle. Once finished he replaced the cork putting the bottle back into the pouch.

It took a bit for the potion to kick in but it did do so before Link completely ran out of magic. It was close though Link had seen the barrier flicker out once or twice before it did. This time his magic lasted until the sun had risen and the rain had stopped for the day. Link let the spell disappear and as soon as he did he found a drawback for holding the spell as long as he did… It left one with a very aching head. He just hoped it would disappear before the middle of the night. He had a feeling if it did no there was little possibility of him being able to concentrate enough to cast Naryu's Love tonight.

The young Hylian climbed out of the saddle to check just how wet Epona manage to get. Link slowly ran his hand across her chest and neck feeling she wasn't very damp. Most likely she had dried off while he had Naryu's Love activated so he wouldn't have to use Din's Fire to dry her off which was probably a good thing with how much his head was hurting at the moment. Smiling Link pulled the hood of the cloak off and the mask down. He wouldn't have to worry about drying himself off either. Since the rain hadn't hit him very hard he'd just let his cloths dry the normal way. As for the reason of the smile it was because as far as he was concerned he did a pretty good job for a first night out here like this. It would be nice if the rest of his time out in Hyrule Field would go as well as this.

Before he climbed back into the saddle he gave water and food to Epona then got some for himself. Once the ground had dried later on in the day he would walk beside Epona, but for now in order not to get himself stuck in the mud he climbed back up into the saddle allowing Epona to pick her own pace. As he rode Link thought about the Hylian royal heir. It was strange that he was being sent to the Great Deku Tree in an attempt to find the heir because if it was as simple as asking him Kera probably would have done it already. From what she had written in her letter it told Link that she had not which made him wonder why. He knew Kera had not been unable to leave the village because she had done it on several occasions. _Maybe she could only leave the village for so long,_ he thought to himself as the smile on his faced vanished. _Those spells she used to protect the village probably couldn't have been maintained without her there…_

By the time the sun was high in the sky and the ground was completely dry Link was happy to find out that his headache had vanished. Link gently pulled back on Epona's reins stopping her to where he could climb out of the saddle. Once he was down Link stretched wincing slightly as he stretched his right arm. The pain reminded him of the old woman's warning and it made him wonder if his right arm would indeed be weakened by the wound. It had taken him awhile to get it strong enough to use the wooden shield against Kera and Lith's attacks without dropping it. If his arm did get permanently weakened then he was going to have trouble using his new shield properly.

Link stared at his right arm holding it straight out as he clenched and unclenched his fist a few times. From what he had understood of Kotate's explanation even if he did try to strengthen his arm if the injury had indeed made it weaker there was a good chance he could never make it as strong as it used to be. He unhooked his shield from the sheath and held it with his right arm for a moment. It was heavier than his wooden shield obviously which made him wonder if it would have been a good idea to have brought it along as well. He moved his arm around for a bit before he sighed and reattached the shield to the swords sheath. He'd try carrying it around on his arm for awhile while they were walking but for now he went to fetch food and water for him and Epona.

The two did not stop again until the sun was beginning to set. This time instead of a tree to attach the tarp to he managed to find what remained of an old stone wall. Link had to build it up slightly to get the tarp up high enough to where both he and Epona could be under it and he hoped the wall wouldn't end up collapsing on top of the two of them while they slept. When he was certain both of them could fit underneath the tarp and it was not going to be blown away during the night he lead Epona beneath it. When he had removed the saddle bags and saddle from Epona the young man had also fetched water and food for the both of them. He now sat with his back to the wall on top of his bed roll as he ate some of the dried meat. When he had finished eating Link pulled the Hero's Tunic off as well as his chain mail so he could massage his right shoulder a bit.

Thanks to carrying around the shield for half the day and then having to lift the stone up it was hurting a bit. It made him wish he had thought of packing some of that balm Kera use to have him use to help relax sore muscles after a day of training. He actually had not seen any recently that he could remember so there was always the chance there had not even been any at the house to pack any way. He was also pretty tired thanks to the few hours of sleep he had gotten last night as well as skipping those afternoon naps of his.

When he heard rain begin to hit the tarp Link stopped what he was doing and pulled the chain mail and Hero's Tunic back on. Then he moved his sword and shield within easy reach of the bedroll and lay down. Once again it did not take very long at all before he was asleep.

His sleep only lasted a few hours, however, for once again when the moon had climbed up high in the sky the storms outside turned fierce and he was woken up by it. Link stood quickly strapping his sword on and reattached the shield then went about breaking camp as fast as he could. Once he had finished and Epona was saddled once more he climbed up into the saddle and continued his journey. It was not to hard this time for him to call up Naryu's Love, but Link was having a hard time keeping his concentration in it to keep the shield maintained. Skipping the afternoon naps like he had been doing was catching up to him and he had to fight to stay awake…

A fierce cry echoed throughout the night loud enough for one to hear it over the howling of the wind. The sound jolted Link awake, causing him to almost fall out of the saddle in slight panic. He had no idea how long he had been asleep but the protective shield of Naryu's Love had vanished because he had not been awake to supply it with magic. The wind had managed to blow the hood of his cloak off his head and the only thing that had saved his hat was he had learned his lesson from the previous night and had stuffed it into the saddle bags when he had placed them on Epona. His cloths where soaked completely through causing Link to shiver thanks to the wind.

His head was also aching slightly but he doubt that had anything to do with the taint. Most likely it was due to his body protesting his sleeping habits for the past few days. He had been lucky in one thing though. Epona had continued to walk even though he had fallen asleep and even without his guidance the mare had managed to keep between the wagon ruts. _You should have just slept in the saddle during the afternoons,_ the voice told him.

"I didn't think I could stay in the saddle and sleep at the same time," Link said as he sat up straight.

_Obviously you can._

"Be quite," Link told it crossly as he tried to cast Naryu's Love once again hoping that it would be as easy as it had been earlier, but another cry echoed shattering his concentration.

_What is that?_ He wondered as he looked around him. Whatever it was Epona didn't like it the mare had not been shivering before but after hearing the cry a second time she was now. Then with no reason he could think of since the sun had not risen the rain stopped and the wind died down as well. It was thanks to this that he could see the forest in front of them since with no clouds above it was lit up by moonlight.

Link was about to coax the mare into a gallop because he wanted to reach the forest while the rain was gone, but a loud crash near the two of them caused Epona to bolt on her own. Link had to make a quick grab for the reins to keep her steered in the right direction. When another crash happened right in front of them the mare reared up crying in fear throwing Link off her back. She quickly darted off in another direction only to stop once she realized Link was no longer on her back.

The young man winced when he hit the ground having been unable to do anything to soften his landing. As he stood up a streak of lightening went across the sky lighting the area up he was in for a moment allowing him to see what had caused the crashing sound. There in front of him was a _very_ large paw and when Link looked up he saw it was attached to either a very large dog or wolf. When he saw the thin black wisps coming off its body much like Zeth's shadow wolf Link decided it was most likely another much larger version of it. Link began to run towards Epona only to have the giant shadow wolf get in between himself and her. Link took a few steps back as he opened up his quiver pulling the bow out if it. Before he could string it Link had to roll to the side when one of the wolfs paws tried to come down on top of him.

Once he was standing again Link pulled out a bow string and strung the bow as quickly as possible. Then he pulled an arrow out of the quiver as the wolf began turning towards Link once more. By the time the wolf was facing him Link had the arrow knocked and ready to fly. He released it and watched as it hit the shadow wolf below one of its red eyes. The wolf did not seem to really notice it much to his dismay as one of its paws swiped at Link sending him flying until he crashed into a tree. The force of crashing into it knocked the air out of his lungs while also causing the tree to break.

It took him a bit before he was able to stand up again and once he was Link glanced around for his bow finding it beside him snapped in two. He turned to look in the direction of the wolf only to see it was coming straight at him. Link grabbed his shield as he unsheathed his sword. _Just how exactly am I going to beat this thing with my sword?_ He wondered as it reached him.

_You don't,_ the voice told him as the wolf attempted to bite Link, but the youth ran forward running in between the wolfs front legs. When he reached the hind legs Link slashed at one with his sword and he heard the wolf how out in pain.

_Then what do you suggest I do? _Link nearly shouted at it as the wolf jumped backwards and turned to where Link was in front of him once again. The voice seemed to have no answer and remained silent as the wolf snapped at Link. He rolled to the side to avoid the attack and was even able to slash at the wolfs muzzle before it was able to pull back causing the wolf to shake his head. Link jumped back as the wolf shook his head to avoid being sent flying again should he be hit while the wolf did. The shadow wolf turned to where it was facing the young man once again and it decided it would just be safer to flatten Link then trying to bite him in two. It proceeded to try to stomp Link with one of its paws and Link dodged running to the side to avoid it. When its front left paw hit the ground with no Link beneath it the wolf used its right paw to swipe at Link once again since that had obviously worked before.

Link could not dodge the swipe quickly enough and instead he tried to keep from being sent flying again by digging his feet into the ground blocking with his shield. The ground was soft enough thanks to the rain that it absorbed most of the impact, but Link felt a searing pain in his right shoulder then nothing as it went numb for a moment causing him to almost drop his shield completely. Link turned his head to look at his arm praying he just didn't lose feeling in it completely.

The shadow wolf took advantage of Link being momentarily distracted by his arm to attempt biting him in two again. Link noticed the wolfs movement from the corner of his eye and attempted to dodge the shadow wolfs attack. The wolf missed Link's flesh but managed to get a hold of the hood of Link's cloak instead. Before Link could try and undo the clasp the wolf quickly lifted its head letting go of Link to throw him up in the air. Link turned to where he was facing the ground only to see the shadow wolf was below him fully intending on eating him. Eyes narrowing Link tossed his shield to the side and held his sword with both hands tightening his grip on the hilt. When the shadow wolf caught Link in his mouth the young man dove the sword up through the roof of the wolf's mouth. This caused the shadow wolf to begin shaking his head in an attempt to dislodge Link as he held onto the sword as best he could. Link tried to think of what to do next now that he had at least made it to where he wasn't going to get eaten. An idea appeared in his mind and Link hoped it would work as he concentrated casting Din's Fire to where it would follow up his sword.

Just when Link's right arm was about to give out on him he felt the shadow wolf stop shaking and then felt himself falling. Link grunted when he hit what he hoped was the ground only managing to keep a hold of his sword with his left hand. He was completely surrounded by darkness and as he stood up it began to dissipate. When he could finally see again he was indeed standing on Hyrule field. He glanced around him expecting to see the wolf coming at him, but instead he spotted it a few feet away from him. It was now the size of a puppy and Link kept a tight grip on his sword as he walked towards it.

When Link was standing right next to it the shadow wolf let out a low whimper and lifted its head up to look at him. The wolfs eyes where no longer red, but were amber in color and upon the wolfs forehead Link spotted the crest of the royal Hylian family. His eyes widen slightly as he sheathed his sword as he kneeled beside the shadow wolf slowly reaching towards him with his left hand. The shadow wolf happy that Link had sheathed his sword gently licked Link's fingers letting out a low whine as he laid his head back down. _I wonder what made it attack me in the first place,_ he thought as he gently picked the pup up.

As he stood up Link glanced around for Epona and noticed she was already heading towards him. He was happy that she was because now that the fight was over he felt even more tired and was beginning to feel just how battered his body was thanks to the pup in his arms. The fact that his right arm hurt every time he moved it had him worried as well the pain and numbness he had felt when he had blocked the wolf with his shield. Well at least it had not gone permanently numb like he had feared. As he waited for Epona to reach him Link shifted the pup slightly too where he was holding him with his right arm only. It made his arm protest, but he needed his left arm free to pull himself back up into the saddle.

It was when Epona reached him that it had began to rain again. He had just enough time to retrieve his shield and climb into Epona's saddle before it began to turn into a storm once again. It was thanks to this that it took him a bit before he was able to find the wagon wheel ruts. It should not have mattered since he could now spot the forest on the horizon, but he knew that there was a cliff between the first few trees and the actual Kokiri Forest. The only way to find the bridge that span the gap to the forest was to follow the wagon ruts. Once he did he urged Epona into a gallop wanting to get to the forest as soon as possible. While he rode he held the wolf cradled next to his stomach and it did not take very long for Epona to reach the tree's that marked the entrance to the forest. Link could not help but smile a bit now that he was out of the rain and had actually managed to reach the woods.

He heard rather then saw when Epona took her first steps onto the wooden suspension bridge. It might have been going across the cliff, but the Lost Woods was right below him and the tree's in it grew high enough to raise above the cliff and block out whatever light the moon would have offered. He was kind of sad that it was too dark to actually see anything, but he could defiantly hear things move around them. When he could no longer hear Epona walking he knew she had crossed the bridge safely enough.

Here the forest was not as thick as it had been near the entrance and Link could see somewhat to where he would not run into anything. Link carefully climbed out of the saddle so as not to drop the shadow wolf in the process. Using his free left hand Link undid the clasp to the swords sheath gently setting it with the shield still attached to it down. He then undid the clasp for his cloak allowing it to fall to the ground. The shadow wolf woke up around then and it realized they were someplace safe to sleep so it jumped out of Link's arms then proceeded to find the softest spot he could to sleep on, which happened to be Link's piled up cloak the water proofing having kept it dry for the most part. With the shadow wolf taking care of itself Link turned his attention to Epona removing the horse tack from her the best he could then he gave her water as well as some food.

With everyone else taken care of Link turned his attention to himself. He was tired and the idea of just lying down and going to sleep was very tempting at this point but his cloths were completely soaked through. Sighing, Link undid his belt laying it on top of the saddle then he undid the lacing on the Hero's Tunic and pulled it off carefully so he wouldn't have to move his right arm so much. He also removed the chain mail deciding that it could wait until tomorrow to be attended to as he dropped it near the saddle. Then he removed his gauntlets glad to see that the bandage on his left hand had remained dry. He set them near the tunic before he removed the long sleeve shirt laying it out on the ground near the tunic. Every movement of his arm hurt, but he would rather feel the pain then chance getting sick from the taint in his cloths. He still wondered why once something was dry the taint was gone… With a shake of his head Link also removed his boots as well as his breeches after fetching a dry pair out of the saddle bags to switch to.

Since he was not hungry nor was he thirsty he did not worry about getting anything for himself. As for the shadow wolf he was already asleep so there was no point in trying to feed him. Instead he just unrolled his bedroll and sat on top of it for a moment while he cast Din's Fire to where a small fire ball appeared in his left hand so he could examine his shoulder. There was no damage to the outside that he could tell. There was not any way for him to tell if he had somehow harmed something beneath the skin so if it continued to hurt with every movement in the morning he was going to use one of the red potions Kotate had given him. Before he retired for the night he removed the thong from his hair and ran his left hand through it so it would dry easier.

Link knew he was dreaming before he could even take in what he was seeing. The woman with the forest green eyes stood in front of him but she was not looking at him. She was looking straight through him. Link turned around and spotted the young woman that was always surrounded by darkness only an arm's length away from him. She was crying while she sat on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms laid crossed on top of them with her face buried in her arms. She seemed younger then the last few times Link had seen her and when he reached out towards her the gap between them grew larger. The dream shifted and she was older now and no longer crying, but it was clear she was depressed with whatever situation she was currently in. The gap was once again only an arm's length away and when Link tried to reach towards her again wishing to help her the gap grew again this time larger much larger than it had the first time.

A light appeared behind him and Link turned to see the younger girl who was always surrounded by light. She was much closer to him than the older one was and did not seem to be in any danger that he could tell. Link jumped when he felt movement beside him and he looked to his side seeing the woman with forest green eyes. She took Link's left hand in hers holding it to where her thumbs where on both sides of the top of his hand to where it was not covered by hers. She was starring at his hand so intently that he looked at it as well. His hand was bare having neither gauntlet nor bandage covering it. The Triforce mark on his hand began to glow while the Triforce of Courage glowed brighter than the other two.

The woman let go of his hand with one of hers then gently touching Link's chin she lifted it up to where he was looking at her once again. "Beloved child both of them wait for you, but you must find one before the other or only one will be able to be found," she warned looking towards the woman surrounded by darkness, "and Hyrule cannot afford to lose her…"

Link looked towards her as well. "How do I find her then?" he asked looking at the woman with the forest green eyes.

She looked at him as well smiling slightly. "Oh beloved child continue on the path you have chosen but do not ask the Great Deku tree where to find the Hylian Heir… Give him the satchel the Sage of Shadows has been guarding to keep safe and ask him where to find the Sage of Light. Follow the Great Deku Tree's instruction. Only then will the path be set to where you can save her. When you are able to return to the Great Deku Tree again then you may ask him about the Hylian Heir and only then," she explained to him and the two women vanished leaving only the forest green eyed one.

She looked at him and smiled softly gently stroking his cheek as if he really was her beloved child. "Oh beloved child remember. Keep your heart pure and let your courage remain strong and you will overcome all obstacles you shall face…" she told him as she let his hand go and slowly walked away only to disappear as well.

It was well into the afternoon before Link finally woke up and when he did open his eyes the dream was momentarily forgotten as his eyes widened. Here within the Kokiri Forest like he had heard everything was indeed still alive. The tree's were all a healthy color and their branches where covered in leaves. There was also sunlight filtering down through the leaves that made Link want to try and climb one of the trees to get above the canopy in hopes of actually seeing the clear sky. The tops of the giant trees swayed ever so slightly in the wind he could not feel changing the way the sunlight shined through. It was almost hypnotic the way they moved and he lay there for awhile just staring up at the leaves.

_How could anyone destroy this? _He thought as he finally sat up ignoring the aches from his bruised body. Even his shoulder was barely hurting so he did not worry about it. He took his time sitting there as he looked around. Just like how the trees were alive so were all the other plants. These were all things he had never seen before and he was greatly fascinated by it all. A soft smile was upon his face as he looked around in wonderment.

It was his growling stomach that finally made him get up since he had to walk over to the saddle bags to fetch something to eat. Almost as soon as he had unwrapped the wax paper from around some of the dried meat the shadow wolf appeared next to him and he wasn't so small anymore. It was now the size of an adult wolf and its sudden appearance surprised Link to where he dropped the package barely managing to catch it before it hit the ground much to the shadow wolfs disappointment. "How did you get so big?" Link asked the shadow wolf tilting his head to the side as he spoke.

As soon as Link had finished speaking the shadow wolf shrank down in size returning to the puppy size then grew back up into the adult size. Then while Link was trying to figure out what exactly had just happened it nosed his hand that was holding the meat. Link just shook his head and gave half of the dried meat to the shadow wolf that sat down and began to naw on it. Link took a few pieces for himself wrapping the rest up and placed it back inside the bag. He, however, did not sit to eat he instead walked over to one of the tree's to get a closer look at it.

It felt so strange to him to see one alive since he was so used to seeing them dead. He carefully ran his hand along the bark of the tree then he took a glance around and it was then that he noticed that some of the trees were different than the others. In fact they had been at some point changed into houses which probably meant the Kokiri lived here. Except… the houses appeared abandoned like they hadn't been tended to in a long time which mean the Kokiri were not here any longer. The wagon wheel ruts from the supply wagons, however, did not go further in. He could clearly see where they had turned around to head back to Kakariko Village which mean the Kokiri did come here from time to time, but how long would he have to wait before they showed up? _It would probably just be better if I tried to find them myself…_ Link thought as he looked around trying to find some other type of path to take beside the one he had arrived on.

He had not realized it when he had ridden in last night but the small area was in slopped downward and much like the graveyard back in Kakariko Village it appeared as if someone had carved a chunk out of the forest to make the small bowel like area he was now standing in. The tree's where to thick outside of the path he had ridden in to try and take a different route before the path had begin to slope so there was something he was missing…

It was the shadow wolf, in the end, who pointed out just what he was missing. After the wolf had finished eating he had begun to walk around the place only to appear to vanish into a rock wall. When Link had walked over to where he had vanished having to jump over a small stream to get to the area he saw there was actually an opening in the wall that had been hidden by how he had been standing. Link walked along the path until it opened up into a large clearing within the woods. The first thing Link noticed was the clear blue sky above him. The second, after starring at the sky for awhile, was a rather large tree that had fallen over at some point. When Link walked over to it he was shocked to find that the trunk of the tree was wider then he was tall.

The shadow wolf had not gone further into the clearing having sat down beside what was left of the root system of the fallen tree. Once Link had joined him the shadow wolf had noised around the area for a bit but having found nothing of interest to him began to head back to the area Epona was in. Link stayed there for a bit longer wondering just old the tree would have been to become that large. He was also enjoying being able to see the sky as well as feel the sun upon his skin. When, upon looking around the area proved there were no other paths, Link also headed back.

Sighing, Link rubbed the back of his head as he tried to recall the stories he had heard about the Lost Woods and the Kokiri Forest. All he could really recall where all the ghost stories people told about the Lost Woods ones that told about what happened to those foolish enough to traverse through it only to get lost. None of them actually stated just how one got into the woods themselves. _After all no one really wants to go into them only you seem stupid enough to do so kid, _the voice told him and he ignored it except he did have to agree going into the Lost Woods was indeed a foolish idea. The problem was he saw no other way to find the Kokiri and the Great Deku Tree. _If I do get lost and turn into a Deku Scrub at least I'll get to live within a forest forever,_ he thought to himself as he smiled at his own foolishness.

Instead of trying to find the way into the Lost Woods Link turned his attention to other things such as making sure his chain mail would notrust. After that he had to repair the damage the shadow wolf had done to his cloths. As for replacing the bow that would be harder and for the moment he did not want to worry about it. Link was also worried about his right arm again because it was still hurting though admittedly not as bad as it had last night which made him believe like earlier he would not need to use a Red Potion. Link also looked Epona over to make sure she had not been injured somehow despite the fact she had stayed clear of the battle

If Link where to admit the truth he would have said he was stalling. Not because he was afraid to go into the Lost Woods strangely enough the idea of going into them did not really upset him. No, he was stalling because with the clearing that the large tree had once stood in he'd be able to see another thing he had not seen before: The night sky. What Kera had told him about it was enough to cause him to stall in continuing further into the forest. There was no telling the next time he would get a chance like this and he was going to take it.

The shadow wolf watched as Link went about with the different things he had to do all the while staying in the spot he had picked as his for the moment. When Link had finished with Epona the wolf wandered over to him and leaned against Link as it let out a soft whine. The young man looked down at him and the shadow wolfs tail wagged slightly. Link smiled as he patted the shadow wolf on the head that was very happy to get the attention from him. The shadow wolf, however, did not stay very long like that because it spotted a group of birds that had landed on the forest floor. Before Link could stop him the wolf took off towards the birds and they scattered as they flew up into the sky. The shadow wolf sat down then and watched them fly off with what Link could have sworn was a grin on its face his tongue to one side as he panted.

"I have a feeling as long as you're with me I'm not going to see much in wild life," Link commented then he slowly shook his head. Maybe if he was lucky the shadow wolf would not chase after every animal they happened upon, but he had the feeling that it would. With a sigh Link started to walk around the area trying to find a way further into the woods. Even if he did not want to leave this area right this moment he could at least find the way into the deepest part of the woods so he knew where to go once he awoke tomorrow. He was not foolish enough to enter the woods at night even if was foolish enough to go into them in the daytime.

Another thing that had him worried was just how he was supposed to find the Deku Tree within the Lost Woods? The very reason they were called the Lost Woods was because there was no real set path in them and it meant one got lost very easily. _The only thing I can do is try… I mean staying here for the rest of my life would not do anyone any good,_ he thought to himself as he wondered over to one of the houses.

There were two ledges behind it and the first took no real effort on Link's part to climb onto while the second one was about half is height above his head. The vines that grew alone the face of the ledge looked climbable to him until he did try to do just that some of the vines gave away. He let go of the vine letting it drop to the ground as he tried once again to climb up them. This time he was able to do so and once he was on top of the ledge he could see a hollow log that cut through the trees. "This must be the way in," he said to himself as he walked over to the hollow log.

He tried to peer inside of it and see through to the other side, but the hollow log was to long which made it to dark to see to the other side. _I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see what exactly is on the other side of it,_ he thought to himself as he walked back over to the edge of the ledge. Link carefully climbed down the vines then down off the smaller ledge. Then for a while he entertained himself just by looking around the area some more. However, when it reached the normal time that he slept in the afternoon he began to feel tired.

"I wish I knew what exactly is wrong with me. I haven't been awake all that long," he said with a slight tone of annoyance in his voice. He had yet to put his bedroll back up since he had already decided to stay here for another night so he wandered over to it and lay down. The shadow wolf waited until Link had gotten comfortable before it wandered over to where Link was and lay down beside him.

Link was not at all happy when he woke up only to realize that the sun was setting. Not because he would miss the sun set he had seen that often enough even with all the clouds and always thought it to be beautiful. The thing that upset him was that he had slept so long. As he sat up he glanced around the area he was in and spotted Epona near the small stream munching on some grass. "At least we don't have to worry about you going hungry now," he told her as he walked over to the saddle bags to get himself something to eat.

As he had expected, as soon as he had unwrapped the dry meat the shadow wolf was back at his side begging for some. Link also got out some bread and cheese only giving the wolf some of the meat and cheese figuring it would have no interest in the bread. When he had his food in hand he began to wonder towards the large clearing wanting to see the clear night sky as soon as he could figuring he could eat as he walked there.

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><p>AN – Hope you enjoy this chapter! I know I do thanks to the appearance of the wolf :3. Any sort of review on this story is greatly appreciated guys!


	7. Braving That Which Others Fear

Disclaimer – Legend of Zelda is copyrighted to Nintendo.

A/N – There may or may not be a chapter next month I am about ready to catch up to what I have already written, but I will try to get one up :3.

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><p>Braving That Which Others Fear<p>

It took Link longer then he would have liked to reach the clearing because the shadow wolf had decided that now that the two of them had eaten it was a very excellent time to play. Something that was as big as the shadow wolf was not an easy thing to say no to and he found himself more than once tackled to the ground by him. The only reason he had been able to escape the hyper wolf was because Link had thrown the stick it had brought him after it had its share of tackling Link as hard as he could in the opposite direction of the clearing. When the wolf had ran after the stick Link had ran for the clearing. It was because of this by the time he had reached the clearing it had become nighttime.

_He acts more like a dog then a wolf…_ Link thought when he had stopped running when he had reached the center of the clearing. As he stood there trying to catch his breath he now understood what Kotate had meant when she had warned him about how he would have trouble breathing. Between playing with the wolf and running here to the clearing he was having a hard time filling his lungs with air. Every time he tried to take a deep breath it felt like there was a tight rope tied around his chest as well as this weird feeling that was hard to describe.

The only reason he was noticing it now instead of when he had fought the shadow wolf was because at the time he had been too caught up in what had happened. Now he found himself hoping that someday it would go away because if he kept having trouble breathing like this it was going to cause him a lot of trouble later on down the road. Especially if he was correct in assuming he had a lot of battles ahead of him. After he had managed to catch his break Link had sat down leaning back on his hands.

The wolf by then had retrieved the stick Link had thrown and had even gone to join him in the clearing. Now that Link was sitting the wolf had a new idea for playing and had dropped the stick he was carrying in favor of tackling the youth from behind. Link yelped in surprise when the wolf ran into him and attempted to push him off. The wolf was not about to make it easy, however, and while Link tried to push him away the wolf tried to coax Link into wrestling with him. Link was laughing by the time the wolf had pushed him flat onto his back. "Alright, alright you win!" Link told the wolf who finally allowed Link to push him off.

The wolf panted quite happily and flopped down beside Link with a wolfish grin while Link stared at it. "When you want attention you really want attention," he said and sighed. Now that the wolf was ready to leave him alone Link turned his focus skyward and instantly his eyes widen at what he saw. There were thousands of the small lights in the sky known as stars. He knew there were supposed to be a lot of them, but he hadn't expected this many. He also now understood why when Kera had tried to explain what it looked like she had told him it was something he would have to see for himself in order for him to fully understand it.

Slowly he shifted his weight forward as he continued to stare up into the heavens. As he did so Link remembered something else Kera had told them when they had talked about it. _"And just think Link, when you do finally get to see the night sky, that come time for the seasons to change you'll get to see a whole new set of stars."_ He found it hard to believe that the stars changed with the seasons, but now he was beginning to wish he could stay here to see the different stars.

_You're getting greedy kid. You see a few new things and instantly you want to see more. What about what Kera and the woman with the green eyes said?_ What the voice had said made Link slowly look to the ground to pull his gaze away from the stars as he clenched his fists tightly in the grass. He really was getting greedy and it reminded him that there where others who would never see these things if he didn't continue forward. "Right… I can't stay here any longer," he told himself as he stood up. Without looking back Link quickly walked out of the clearing before he really did decide to just stay there. There were other things he had to do.

The next morning had Link fully dressed chain mail and all with his sword and shield strapped over his cloak. At the moment he was pulling things out of his saddle bags that he thought he would need such as a lantern and the few bottles of oil he had. The objects he wouldn't need Link left in the saddle bags which he had moved into one of the abandoned houses along with Epona's saddle and the rest of her tack. He had also removed the quiver from his belt since it was quite useless without his bow and instead attached the lantern to it. The rest of the things went into a bag that had a single strap to go over his shoulder while the bag itself would rest against his hip. The strap had been made to where if Link pulled at a knot on it the strap would come undone and the bag would drop to the ground so it wouldn't get in the way if he had to fight.

When he was sure he had everything he would need including making sure to fill a water skin from the small stream Link walked over to Epona. With a soft smile on his face he gently pat Epona on the nose. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he whispered to her. With all the grass and full access to the water he wouldn't have to worry about her. It was his newest traveling companion he was worried about. He didn't know if the wolf was going to stay here or try to follow him into the woods. It had already proven that it would rather try to get food out of Link then hunt so he had the feeling it was going to follow him, but how would the wolf get to the entrance of the Lost Woods?

Link walked over to the ledges that led to the Lost woods and stepped up onto the first one the wolf following him. When he reached the one with the vines growing over it he turned to look at the wolf. "Can you get up there on your own?" The wolf looked at Link then at the ledge tilting his head to the side as it seemed to think of what it was going to do next. Then it paced at the bottom of the cliff before it turned to walk as far from it as he could without climbing down from the one they were on right now. The shadow wolf turned around and suddenly ran for the ledge. Link moved out of the wolf's way to where his back was against the rock wall and watched as the wolf tried to jump to the top of the ledge. It had either misjudged or just couldn't jump as high as he thought because the wolf crashed into the ivy covered cliff then fell to the ground.

He ran over to the wolf afraid he might have hurt himself only to get there in time to see the wolf glare at the ledge and growl at it. "Well I guess we will have to think of another way to get you up there." He turned his attention to the ledge and stared at it for awhile as he thought. From its attempt Link believed it was safe to say the shadow wolf could not get on top of the ledge on his own which meant he was going to have to help it somehow. "I cannot pick you up while you are that size. Maybe if you shrink down to your small size I can pick you up and then you can jump up to the ledge that way?" Link suggested and the shadow wolf seemed to like his idea because the wolf shrank to its smallest form as soon as he had finished speaking.

Link picked the wolf up and held it up above his head as high as he could. It wiggled free of his grip to where it was precariously perched on his hands then it jumped. At first he didn't think the wolf was going to make it but he managed to get his two front paws on the ledge. With that the wolf was able to pull himself up. Link followed the wolf up climbing the vines. By the time he reached the top the wolf had grown to his regular size and was sitting beside the hollow log waiting for him. The young man glanced over his shoulder back at Epona before walking over to the log. "Well here we go," he told the wolf as he took a step inside of it then proceeded to walk through the log.

When he reached the other side of the log Link began to understand why he hadn't been able to see through it. Now the youth was surrounded by a dense forest that was a mixture of several different trees. The darkness in the log was echoed by how dark the woods themselves where. In fact the canopy blocked light out efficiently enough to where there were mushrooms growing on the ground which Link knew from books most mushrooms liked dark and damped places. The dampness for the mushrooms was provided by a mist that hung around near the base of the trees and thankfully it wasn't so thick Link couldn't see where he was stepping. The low light and the dampness of the area did not stop other plants from growing on the forest floor and without anything really stopping it from growing it had become quite thick in some areas.

It didn't take him very long to figure out part of the problem of the Lost woods. Just from where he stood Link could see several different trails that fanned out before him. Some of the trails were wide enough for him and the wolf to walk side by side while others even the wolf would have trouble getting through some of the brush in his smallest form. "Now what do I do?" he wondered as he tried to decide just which path he should take. To him, besides the different sizes, the paths all looked the same.

As far as he could tell there was nothing that showed that any of the trails had been used lately. Even if there were with the stories he had heard of this place Link probably wouldn't have believed those paths to be safe. He knew the Lost Woods were large enough to hide several clearings where the Kokiri grew the food that he and the others from Kakariko village ate but that just meant he had an even bigger chance of losing his way in here. Standing here like he was Link wished he had practice using Farore's Wind more. He could use it, but he couldn't teleport very far. The farthest he had successfully used the spell between two way points he himself had created was from the training barn to the edge of the graveyard. He knew that was not far enough for it to be of use in the forest. There was also the fact he didn't know if the woods own magic wouldn't block his somehow. Despite this he placed his hand on the log and concentrated on making a way point. Adding this one once he had finished gave him a grand total of three… He really needed to practice this spell.

He was tempted to head back to where Epona was to see if, by chance, someone had left a map on how to get through these woods in one of the houses. Before he could put much thought into that plan the wolf began to walk down one of the smaller trails. Link watched it for a moment before he decided to follow after it. For all the stories he had heard about this place none of them ever spoke about an animal getting lost so maybe the wolf would be able to lead him to the Great Deku Tree even though he wasn't a real wolf. As the two of them walked they kept coming across different paths that would branch off the one they were on. The wolf ignored these and would only stop when the path they were on would once again fan out into several different paths much like what was at the entrance. Here he would pause for a moment before the wolf would select one and Link would follow after it. After going past ten such spots the young man knew that he would not be able to find his way back to the entrance. Right now he really hoped the wolf knew where it was going.

After awhile they came upon a small clearing in the woods that had several stumps within it. The wolf glanced around the clearing then kept to the edge of it keeping as far away from the stumps as it could. Link was curious as to why the wolf was behaving like it was and glanced at the logs in time to see someone or something more like it suddenly appear on top of one. When he looked back at the wolf Link noticed he was still walking and he hurried up to catch up with him. He glanced at the stumps again when he had caught up to him only to have to dodge when the person on top of them threw something at him. Whatever they had thrown Link had jumped backwards to avoid it. The object had hit a tree that Link had been standing beside and it had begun to smoke. It was then Link understood why the shadow wolf had avoided the stumps. Link turned his attention back to the wolf and had to run in order to catch back up with it.

They kept walking for what seemed like several hours to him. The two only paused when they came upon another spot where the trails fanned out. At one such spot Link had eaten and drank some water while the shadow wolf ignored the food Link offered to him. The young man knew when the sun had passed the highest point of the sky because he began to feel tired. The idea of sleeping in to the Lost Woods didn't really appeal to him so he tried to ignore the tired feeling the best he could. The wolf, however, seemed to sense Link was tired because when they came upon a tree that had a very large root protruding from the ground in a half-circle he stopped and would go no further. Link had no choice but to stop as well so he sat at the base of the tree leaning his back against the trunk after removing his sword and shield which he lay beside him. This time the wolf was willing to take food from Link and when the wolf had finished eating he laid in front of him keeping its attention on the forest.

It was then Link realized the wolf had stopped at this tree because it would, for the most part, protect them from anything that would come up from behind them. Anything that would come from the sides would have to climb over the roots giving them both plenty of time to either run or prepare to fight. The only side that wasn't relatively safe the wolf was now watching to where Link could sleep without having to worry. "Thank you," Link told the wolf with a slight smile as he closed his eyes. He was going to have to remember to ask the Great Deku Tree if he had any idea why he had to sleep during the afternoons like this.

When Link awoke he believed he had managed to sleep until night had fallen for a moment with how dark it was upon waking. Then he realized that the further the sun moved through the sky the more the trees were able to block it thus it would of course get darker. It already looked like night time while the sun was still up Link was afraid to find out how dark it would get when the sun finally did set. As a precaution he removed his lantern from his belt and lit it after making sure it had oil. Then he picked his sword and shield up strapping them back on as he stood up. Once he was up he attached the lantern to his belt again so his hands would be free.

The wolf stood up at this point and waited for Link to get near him before it began to walk again. Link noticed the wolf kept to the edge of the lantern light as they walked. This made it to where he could barely see the wolf but also to where the wolfs eyes could adjust to the darkness and see if anything approached them. He also noticed that the darker the woods got the louder the noises from whatever lived in them became. It made him slightly nervous since he couldn't see what was making the noises and even more so when he began to notice the glow of eyes staring at him. At this point he decided to stop looking around and keep his attention on the wolf to keep his imagination from getting the better of him.

The wolf continued to do what it had done during the day, but Link realized it was picking trails faster the further into the woods they got. It made him wonder if the wolf had at some point lived in the woods and the trails near the center of it were more known to the shadow wolf then the ones at the edge of it. At one point they were on a trail when the wolf stopped and growled at something in front of them. Link couldn't see what it was exactly that had the wolf agitated but whatever it was seemed to think it wasn't such a good idea to mess with the shadow wolf because he soon started walking again.

It was well into the night when Link noticed the path they were on began to descend slightly and he could see lights off in the distance. The young man ignored them because he wasn't sure what exactly he was seeing fearing they where some type of will 'o wisp. However, after the shadow wolf had to pick several more trails, he noticed that it was making sure that the lights stayed ahead of them instead of trying to avoid them. He found himself hoping that it meant wherever the wolf was leading them they were almost there the forest unnerved him once night time had hit making him feel like he was trespassing in a place he really did not belong. Then the young man noticed that they were approaching a clearing and the wolf started to walk faster as did Link.

When the two of them entered the clearing the wolf stopped and sat down to look at Link with an expression that seemed to say see nothing to worry about. The wolf then relaxed as he began to pant slightly his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. As for Link, he just smiled as he unclipped his lantern from his belt to blow it out. There was enough light within the clearing that there was no longer any need for it. Much like within the Kokiri Forest there were several houses here that had been carved out of several large trees. They all faced the sides of a now very large dirt path the wolf and him were on. If he had to take a guess he would bet that the Great Deku Tree was at the end of this path.

He could also see what looked like several Hylian children with fairies, but knew them for what they really were; Kokiri. The ones that he could see had paused in whatever they were doing to look at him. None of them approached him and for the moment he stayed where he was at wondering if something was wrong. When they continued to stay where they were, Link began to walk down the path knowing he had already delayed speaking with the Great Deku Tree long enough with his wish to see the stars. The wolf followed behind him glancing around at the Kokiri with mild interest. He had obviously seen them before or the wolf really just did not care. _He probably would if they had food_, Link thought as he walked a slight smile on his face.

It didn't take long for Link to realize he had been right about the path leading to the Great Deku Tree. He could see the giant tree as he walked even if it was mostly in shadow due to its leaves blocking light from the stars and the moon. He also found it strange that none of the Kokiri were trying to stop him. Lith had told him just how much they cared for the Great Deku Tree and they never let anyone see him unless he had called for them itself. It made him wonder if the Great Deku Tree and known he would be coming so they knew to let him pass. They only other thing he could think of was that maybe they were afraid of him which he hoped they were not.

Link stopped when he got close enough to where he could see the Great Deku Tree's face believing if he got any closer to him it would be hard for the Great Deku Tree to see him clearly. The wolf stopped when it was beside Link and sat down as it leaned against him slightly. Link could see that the Deku Tree's eyes were closed and he wondered if it wouldn't be better to come back when it was sunlight again. After all with how important this tree was Link did not want to be rude by waking him up… That is if he really did sleep.

He was about ready to leave and wait for daytime when the Deku Tree's eyes opened and he looked at him. Link believed he saw him smile then the Deku Tree spoke, "Welcome to the Kokiri Village. I am the Great Deku Tree."

"Thank you, my name is Link," he introduced himself bowing slightly not really sure just how he was supposed to act towards the tree. Kera had never really taught him how one treated him so Link decided it would be best to show respect to him like Link would any other leader of a village.

This time Link was sure he saw the Deku Tree smile. "Yes I know who you are. The Shadow Sage had told me that after she had passed that you would be coming to see me."

"You spoke to Kera?" Link asked slightly surprised since she had never mentioned speaking to him before. Of course Kera did not always tell Link everything she did so he shouldn't have been to surprise, but still…

"Yes she came here once when she was still able to leave the village safely," the Deku Tree answered and the only time Link could think of that she would have been able to do so was after she had left him on his survival training, but that couldn't be right because she had told him after it that she had been camping near by the entire time. Just when could she have done it?

"She said in a letter that you may be able to help me with what she wished me to do," Link told him.

"Yes she said when you became old enough that she wished for you to find the Hylian royal heir," The Deku Tree agreed.

"There is actually something I need to do before that," Link told him as he recalled the dream he had.

"And that would be?"

"I was told I should ask you on how to find the Sage of Light so I could speak with them," Link told him. The Deku Tree was silent for a moment as he stared at Link. He couldn't help but wonder if he had said something wrong with the reaction he had gotten.

"The Temple of Light is located within Castle town," he finally spoke and Link understood why he had not answered right away his face paling slightly.

"That would mean going right into the center of Zeth's territory," Link stated. He had of course known the Sage of Light was within Zeth's domain thanks to Kera's letter, but Castle Town? That was right in the center of it almost a stone's throw of where Zeth himself lived! He knew once he had entered it he would be on his own. There would be no on there he would be able to trust. Was it really such a good idea to go there of all places? From what the green eyed woman had told him it was but that did not mean he had to like going there.

"Yes, who was it exactly that told you to speak to the Sage of Light?" The Deku Tree asked a look of concern on his face for he too knew what it meant if Link where to go there.

Link didn't answer at first as he looked down at the ground. It felt foolish to tell the Deku Tree that it had been a woman in a dream that had told him to go to such a dangerous place, but then again something told him that if he lied the Deku Tree would know. Besides wouldn't it be a good idea to tell someone about these dreams of his? With a sigh he began his explanation once again looking at the Deku Tree, "Since Kera died I have been having these dreams. At first it was just three women watching over two women one who were surrounded by light and another by darkness. After a bit two of the woman would turn their back to the one in darkness while one with forest green eyes would look back at her. Then when I reached the Kokiri forest the dream changed. The woman with forest green eyes said I had to save both women but if I didn't save the one surrounded by the darkness first she would be lost forever. Then she told me Hyrule could not afford to lose her so I asked her how to find her. The woman said that I was to ask you how to find the Sage of Light as well as leave this in your care," he paused to show the satchel he had taken from the chest that Kera had told him to keep safe. "She said that I was to follow your instructions to get to the Light Sage and that would put me on the path to finding the woman surrounded by darkness."

The Deku Tree thought over what Link told him before he spoke, "As I have said the Temple of Light is within Castle Town. It was in the north-east part of the town, but whether it is still there or not I do not know."

Link nodded though he felt like he was going around in circles. To get to Castle Town he would have to back track most of the way he had come. It would take him at least a day longer to reach it then it had to reach the Kokiri Forest. "Do you know any way to avoid the black rain?" Link asked hoping he would know something. If not this trip wasn't going to be easy.

"You have already found a way," the Deku Tree told him.

"I have?" Link questioned if he really had then why hadn't it worked sometime during his trip?

"Yes the shadow wolf standing beside you has the ability to stop the rain," The Deku Tree explained causing Link to look at him a look of disbelief on his face. The shadow wolfs tail thumped against the ground as he leaned even further against Link. To him it also seemed the wolf puffed out his chest as if trying to show him how important he was.

"But how? When he was with me near the entrance of Kokiri forest it was raining," Link told the Great Deku Tree as he turned to look at him again.

"I do not know how he does it, but I do know that he can. He used to help keep the caravans from Kakariko Village safe before he vanished one day. I believe his name is Rafe," the Deku Tree explained.

_Maybe he was too weak to stop the rain after we had fought. I wonder why I never heard about him before now though,_ Link wondered as he pet the wolf on top of his head. It also made him wonder just what had caused the wolf to attack him. It was obvious by the mark on the wolf's forehead he was somehow connected to the Hylian royal family but how? "What about the satchel?" Link asked then nearly jumped when he felt someone tug on his cloak. He turned around to find a Kokiri standing behind him. This one was male with dark green hair and eyes that to Link seemed had never seen a brush before. He wore a long sleeve light green tunic with white breeches. He also wore a hat similar in style to the one Link wore that was the same color of his tunic. The plain brown belt around his waist had a tanned cloth attached to it as his left hip that had a symbol on it that Link didn't recognize.

"I'll watch over it for you," he told link who looked at the Great Deku Tree for some type of explanation.

"This is Faso. He is the Sage of the Forest," the Deku Tree explained and Link nodded guessing the symbol on the cloth to be the Forest Temples insignia. He turned his attention back to Faso and handed the satchel over to him. Faso examined it for a moment mainly the seal on it to make sure Link hadn't opened it for some reason. When he was sure the seal as intact he attached the satchel to his belt.

"As long as you are in the Kokiri village you are welcomed to use my house. I spend most of my time within the Forest Temple any ways," Faso told him.

"Thank you," Link told him and Faso nodded.

"Do you have any more questions for me?" The Deku Tree asked.

Link slowly nodded his head. "Yes actually I have one more. For awhile now I have to sleep in the afternoons. When it first started happening I tried to ignore it thinking maybe I was just tired from everything I was having to do at the time, but after awhile of doing so I ended up passing out. After that I just started taking naps whenever I felt tired. Do you have any idea what may be causing it?"

"No I am sorry I do not know what may be causing it," the Great Deku Tree answered. Link once again slowly nodded his head. He had hoped the Great Deku Tree would know, but then again he guessed it couldn't be that simple.

"Are you finished speaking to the Great Deku Tree?" Faso asked and Link nodded his head. "Then come, I will show you were my house is as well as get you something to eat," Faso told him as he began to walk away from the Great Deku Tree. Link glanced at him then looked at the Deku Tree one more time before he followed after Faso while the wolf walked beside Link.

The next morning when Link walked out of Faso's house he noticed the small Kokiri was waiting from him outside. "Some of the other Kokiri went back to the Kokiri Forest last night to restock your supplies. They also told me from what they could tell your bow had also been lost at some point," Faso explained as he handed a bow over to Link.

Link took the bow from him and looked it over. The bow itself was made out of some type of wood that he could not identify. There was metal on either side of the grip that he believed was there to help protect his hand while on each end of the bow was this strange tan material that the bow string attached to. Link pulled back on the bow string and was a bit surprised to find out he almost couldn't pull the string back fully. Something else he was going to have to practice with or otherwise pray he never had to use it for an extended period of time.

"It's the Hero's Bow. It was given to a Forest Sage a long time ago to watch over until the next person who needed it came alone. It won't break very easily and weather won't harm it," Faso explained.

Link let go of the string and looked at him. "Thank you."

"Just make sure you take care of it," Faso told him and Link nodded his head. "So will you be heading to Castle Town today?"

"The sooner I can get there the better," Link told him as he began to walk towards the entrance of the village were Rafe waited for him.

"Be careful, Link. Zeth is smart and he has a strong hold over Castle Town," Faso warned as he walked beside him.

"I will be," Link told him and he couldn't help wondering why Zeth had left the Light Sage alone. They were within the one area Zeth had complete control over so why hadn't Zeth gotten rid of them the first chance he had gotten? Most likely it was because the Light Sage was no threat to him after all Kera had not been one to him.

Link and Faso bid farewell to each other before him and Rafe began heading back to Kokiri Forest. Once again the shadow wolf took the lead and led them back the way they had come. It didn't take them as long to get back as it had to reach the village since Rafe was surer of himself this time around. When the two of them exited the log into Kokiri Forest it was around the time Link would normally feel tired, but for some reason this time he didn't.

The young man quickly climbed down the ledge while the wolf just jumped down with ease. Once Link was down he quickly went over to Epona who was grazing on some grass. He smiled as he gently pet the mare then he went to check his saddle bags. Like Faso had told him supplies had been added to what he had and Link unpacked the small bag putting things back into the saddle bag. He fully intended on being out of the forest as soon as he could and on his way to Castle Town. He saddled Epona then got the rest of the gear on her. Now that he had a bow again he reattached his quiver to his belt then pulled the bow on over his head much like he had done with his last one since the weather didn't affect it which was the main reason he had stored his last one in the quiver. Then he climbed into Epona's saddle ready to leave.

It didn't take much encouragement on Link's part to get Epona to start walking towards the bridge that would lead them out onto Hyrule Field. He was a bit surprised that the mare was willing to leave the forest since it was friendlier towards her then Hyrule Field was. Of course she had been raised in those conditions since she had been born in Kakariko Village but still… Maybe it was because she hadn't liked being left behind by him and she knew on the field he wouldn't have to? Whatever the reason was with her pace they were soon leaving the forest and where out on Hyrule Field Rafe following behind her.

Once they were out on the field the wolf made sure to keep a bit of a distance between himself and Epona which Link was grateful for. While walking across the wooden bridge the wolf had to stick close to her and he could tell that it had made Epona nervous since she did not trust Rafe yet. Link hoped that once they had reached Castle Town she would realize that she had nothing to fear from him and would not be nervous around him anymore. Of course it didn't help that Rafe had tried to kill both him and Epona when they had first met him, but it really wasn't the wolfs fault… At least he hoped it wasn't.

As he had done before when he was out on Hyrule Field once the sun was setting he began to look for some place to set up camp. It wasn't like he didn't trust what the Great Deku Tree had told him about Rafe's ability to keep the rain from falling on him, but he did know that he had to get some sleep tonight. If nothing else he could just do what he had done while traveling to the Kokiri Forest and wake up at midnight to start traveling again. Sadly all the trees they passed looked to week to keep the tarp from flying away so there was no place to stop. _I guess we'll get to see his ability to stop the rain sooner than I thought_ Link thought to himself as it began to get darker.

When the sun had fully set it began to rain like it did every night. Link had pulled his hood up to be safe but it didn't take very long for him to realize there wasn't any rain falling on him and Epona. With a smile on his face he turned to look at Rafe who had moved closer to Epona since the rain had begun to fall. There was a slight glow to him now and Link could sense some type of magic emitting from him.

Maybe traveling around Hyrule wouldn't be so hard after all…

About three days later had Link standing in front of the south gate of Castle Town. As the Deku Tree had promised Rafe had managed to keep any of the black rain from falling on him which had made traveling here easier. The youth had climbed out of Epona's saddle and was currently starring at the gate wondering just how he should go about this. He knew that the main reason anyone ever came into Castle Town was to surrender to Zeth's rule so he was afraid if he just walked in that it might seem suspicious. The other would most likely be supply wagons coming from wherever Zeth got all the food stuff from for the town. Link wasn't willing to stand around and wait for a wagon to come in so he could act like he had been part of the caravan the entire time. So the only thing he really could do was walk in.

With a sigh he pulled the hood of his cloak up as well as his mask. He had been reminded enough times about how his blond hair and blue eyes where rare only belonging to the royal family or the knights. Since Zeth had chased out both from Castle Town before he was born he would stand out to much. For now it would be best to keep his hair color hidden as well as his eyes so no one reported him to one of Zeth's guards. They still might just because he was wearing the hood and mask but it was a risk he was going to have to take because between the two without the hood would probably land him in trouble quicker then with the hood.

There was another problem that Link had to deal with. Rafe was a shadow wolf and it might have worked for him if it wasn't for the mark that was on his forehead. Link turned to look at Rafe kneeling in front of him. "Rafe is there any chance you can cover that up?" he asked the wolf as he pointed to the mark on his forehead. The wolf looked at him and titled his head to the side. "Anything having to deal with the royal family could get us in trouble meaning my hair and eyes as well as the mark on your forehead. If you can't cover it up then I won't be able to bring you into the city for your safety as well as mine."

Link could tell by the way the wolf was looking at him that Rafe did not like the idea of being left behind. He saw as Rafe seemed to fade out for a moment before becoming solid again. The mark on its forehead had vanished and Link smiled as he stood up again. Before he began heading for the gate he took hold of Epona's reins. He didn't know if horses were allowed in past the gate but he did not like the idea of leaving her outside in the rain. If the guards at the gate got angry at him then he would figure out what to do then.

Link carefully guided Epona up the steps that lead to the drawbridge afraid that the horse might misstep and hurt herself. Here where the drawbridge met Hyrule Field were two stone posts taller than Link that was connected to a metal fence that blocked direct access from the moat unless one came here to the drawbridge. Link wasn't sure what the purpose of the fence was. The only thing he could think of was it was somehow added defense against some type of invasion. It didn't really make much sense to him though. If Castle Town was attacked the drawbridge would be pulled up leaving a gaping hole in the metal fence. _Maybe it's just for decoration… _he thought to himself since the walls that surrounded Castle Town would prove to be a better defense the fence would.

As he lead Epona across the drawbridge he listened to the sound of her hoof beats echo through the moat below them. The moat itself was pretty deep, but had almost no water in it at the moment. Whether Zeth had blocked off the incoming water from the lake or it had been stopped some other way he did not know. For now he turned his attention to the gate in front of him. There was a guard on each side of the gate and as far as he could tell they were humans or Hylian. He'd have to wait until he got closer to figure out which it was. They didn't seem to be upset that he was leading a horse towards them so maybe Epona would be allowed inside of the town after all. The two guards took one look at Rafe as he walked past and didn't even bother him. _It's like I thought. Having Rafe with me seems to make them think I work for Zeth somehow, _Link thought to himself as he walked through the gate.

The first thing Link noticed upon entering Castle Town was how busy it was. The streets even this close to the gate was crowded. Between Epona and Rafe Link didn't have that hard of a time walking down the main road because most people were avoiding him. Link had expected to find the streets more deserted then what they were and it upset him that so many people had surrendered to Zeth. Then again Link knew he shouldn't be upset at them. The black rain had been designed to wear people down until their spirits broke, but even so it somehow seemed off to him. A lot of the people who now lived here at one point had fought against Zeth so why did they go about their lives as if nothing ever happened? _It's simple, kid, they have forgotten. They have forgotten why they had fought and they had even forgotten how to fight. After all do you really think Zeth would allow so many of his use to be enemies to live so close to him if he didn't have some way of guaranteeing that they wouldn't rise up against him again? _It made sense what the voice said but the question was how?

As he walked Link began to feel light headed while he was also heard a strange buzzing noise. At first he thought nothing of it and continued to walk but the further he got to the center of the city the worse he felt. Link shook his head and stopped walking as he tried to figure out just what was going on. Nothing seemed to be wrong with the people that walked past him so whatever was happening was only happening to him. Even standing here like he was he was finding it more difficult to think. _You better retreat before you become like them…_

Link headed the voices advice and pulled on Epona's reins as he began to walk away from the center of the city towards the wall. By the time he had reached the walls the buzzing noise had stopped and he didn't feel so light headed. He did however feel sick to his stomach now. "Just what happened back there?" Link wondered aloud as he leaned heavily against Epona as he willed his stomach to calm down.

"Its how he controls them," he heard someone say behind him and he turned to face who had spoken. It was a boy a few years younger than himself sitting on a barrel. His hair was red and had been braided into several small braids that had been pulled back into a pony tail. The boy's skin was tanned to where it was darker then Link and his eyes were golden. He was well built for a kid his age which made Link think that he had probably been training much like Link had. He wore a brown shirt that had no sleeves. It also seemed to have a long neck that when it was pulled up would cover the boy's noise and mouth much like the mask Link wore. The fabric the shirt was made out of seemed rough. Also much like the Hero's Tunic Link wore instead of a long seam on the side of the shirt it had been laced together and tied at the edge of the shirt. Link wasn't certain but it also seemed he wore some type of armor beneath his shirt. The pants he wore were a dark brown as where his knee high leather boots. As for his cloak it was a light tan in color and was tattered on the end of it from use. He also wore leather gauntlets similar to what Link himself was wearing yet it had no metal bracers on them.

"What do you mean?" Link asked him.

The boy looked towards the center of the city as he spoke, "its how he keeps all these people from thinking about fighting. Basically they have no idea what is really going on. You're lucky you realized it when you did or you wouldn't remember anything either." Link turned to look at the center of the city.

"By the way the hood of your cloak has slipped," the boy warned him. Link's eyes widened as he quickly pulled his hood back up and turned to look at the boy. His golden eyes were glowing with mischief a huge grin on his face as he kept his eyes on Link. "You're not part of the royal family so I'll guess you're a descendant from one of the knights families that managed to escape," he commented leaning towards Link slightly to get a better look at him now that Link had pulled the hood up again.

Now Link was wondering whether or not he could trust this boy. "Why are you chained up?" he asked mainly to change the subject for now.

"That's because I'm a slave that's about ready to be sold," the boy answered pointing to the group of people that were gathered around a large wooden platform. Link looked at it just now hearing the noises from the auction. "Supposedly I'm going to make the slaver that caught me very rich," the boy said in a way that made Link think he really didn't care that he was about to be sold as a slave. Link watched as the current slave on stage was bought by someone in the crowd and then how the person was roughly dragged away by their new 'owner'.

Now Link felt sick to his stomach for a very different reason. He had read about slavery in one of the books Lith and Kera had made him read, but it had made it sound like slavery wasn't around anymore. Of course now that he was seeing it here Link had a feeling that the book was outdated since most likely Zeth had brought it back. He turned to look at the boy then walked over to him. Link could sense the boy watching him as he took hold of the chains that connected the hand shackles together. The chains were cheap thing only made strong enough to where someone like the boy couldn't break them, but most likely they hadn't counted on something like magic. After all magic wasn't something anyone could do since it required one to be taught to be able to do anything.

Link focused on the chain in his hands as he began to cast Din's Fire. The chains didn't have to melt as far as Link was concerned he just had to weaken it enough to where it would snap. When he heard voices approaching Link grabbed the chain that was connecting the leg shackles with his other hand afraid he would run out of time before he could finish. This was the first time he had used Din's Fire with both hands like this but he could sense both of the chains giving away to his spell.

When he had judged the chain had weakened enough he let go of them both. Then he took a few steps back as he unsheathed his sword and held the hilt with both hands. The boy by then had figured out what Link was trying to do so he spread his arms and legs until there was no slack in the chains. Link then swung his sword as hard as he could. As the sword hit the first chain it snapped it and continued onto the next one which also snapped. Link managed to stop the sword before it hit the ground to prevent any more noise.

"Heh, thanks," the boy said as he stood up while Link sheathed his sword. Before Link could say anything the boy grabbed hold of his arm the boy's palm touching the underneath of Link's arm. Then he felt the boy's own magic touch his skin through both their gauntlets. "Only way I can show my appreciation right now," the boy explained as he let go of Link then took off running and even with his red hair he somehow managed to vanish into the crowd. Rafe began to growl as a couple of men began to approach them. Link took hold of Epona's reins and decided it would be best to move away from here for now. He began to walk further down the path that followed along the wall Rafe walking behind him in case the men did follow them.

Link didn't stop until he had reached the western gate and then he made sure he was out of the way of the crowds moving along the streets. Right now he was unwilling to chance going anywhere near the center of the city especially after what the boy had told him. He was also curious as to just what the boy had done and pulled the gauntlet off his left hand. On the underside of his arm at his wrist was now a strange group of symbols as red as the boy's hair. The first part of the symbol was something that the top center was a point that from the point the lines on either side curved downward then out to a point again. From the two new points the two lines curved inward then right before they meet each other started to round off.

Below that was what looked like two crescent moons connected with a straight line. In the center of each of the crescent moons was a circle. Then below this was the top symbol repeated but flipped upside down. He had no idea just what it had meant or how it was supposed to be a sign of appreciation so for now he just pulled his gauntlet back on and tried to figure out his next move.

_The Great Deku Tree said the Temple of Light is in the north-east section of the city…_ Link reminded himself. If he could have he would have just kept following the wall until he reached the north-eastern section of the city and try to find the Light Temple that way. The problem with that was it meant going near Hyrule Castle. If he went near it he had a feeling Zeth would know with certainty that he was there.

He also couldn't go back the way he had just come because now there would most likely be guards combing the area because he had released the boy. If they had somehow gotten Zeth's Knights involved then Rafe would be more of a hindrance then a help. They would most likely know that there wasn't supposed to be someone else with a shadow wolf within the city. Especially if Kera's theory on them were true since she had believed they were somehow connected to Zeth. Just what as he suppose to do?

_Maybe Naruy's love would work, _Link thought to himself as he looked towards the center of the town. It was worth a shot since the only way the shield would be noticed was if someone was actually looking for it. It would be easier to cast it this time as well because he would only have to cover himself with it. It shouldn't prevent him from holding onto Epona's reins or keep someone from bumping into him either. All it was supposed to do was protect him from things that would harm him. Link took a deep breath to calm himself down then began to concentrate as he tried to cast Naryu's Love. As he had believed it was indeed easier to cast now and the shield appeared after a few moments. He was also glad that it didn't prevent him from keeping a hold of Epona's reins. He waited until there was a break in a crowd before he walked onto the main rod and began heading towards the center of town.

When he had reached what he judged to be the same distance as when he had stated feeling bad and nothing was happening he was glad that his idea to use Naryu's Love had actually worked. A quick glance at Epona and Rafe showed they didn't seem to be affected by whatever was happening so it meant he wouldn't have to worry about them. Ahead of him he could see a very large fountain at the center of the city. From what he could see the main road went straight to it and circled around it with several more main roads from the two other gates ending there as well.

_You're going to regret getting to close to that fountain, kid_, the voice warned him. He was really getting annoyed by how often it had been speaking lately and ignored it as he continued down the road. Like they had done before people seemed to avoid him and with where he was at he was fine with it. It was when he had reached the fountain that things began to go wrong. Whether it was because he had helped the boy or something else entirely Link felt his magic all of a sudden drop dramatically. The crystal blue shield began to shimmer as a warning that it was about to fail until it finally shattered completely before Link could even attempt to drink a green potion to replenish his magic.

This close to whatever had the towns people under a spell made the effects of it almost instantaneous. It suddenly felt like his head was trying to explode as he fell to his knees and he bent at his waist until his forehead was touching the stones of the main road. He felt rather then heard himself scream because the loud noise in his ears made it impossible to hear anything as he protectively clamped his arms around his head in an attempt to protect himself from whatever was happening. A thick fog seemed to settle over his brain preventing him from thinking of anything else to do that might get him out of this mess. Something was tugging at his cloak but he ignored it because his head hurt too much to chance moving.

Over the noise in his ears he heard chuckling he realized was the voice as it said; _I tried to warn you…_

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><p>AN – Okay since this didn't seem to have a place anywhere in this chapter the reason Link didn't get burned by his own spell as the chain heated up was because his own magic was protecting him. Did he know this when he did it? Maybe :3

Reviews of all sorts loved ^-^


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